Penta secured CZK 12bn worth of financing in two loans. The €300m (CZK 8bn) loan, granted by a syndicate of banks led by UniCredit, will be used to refinance existing loans and to finance the expansion of its Dr. Max pharmacy chain in the Czech Republic Slovakia and Poland. The financial group bought nearly 100 pharmacies this year in Poland. Penta is reportedly considering expanding the chain to additional markets in the CEE region. A €150m (CZK 4bn) loan was secured from Komerční banka and Česká spořitelna to refinance the Florentinum mixed-use project in Prague 1. The new loan will allow Penta to refinance a two-year-old CZK 3bn loan on Florentinum and withdraw its own capital from the project, writes Hospodářské noviny. Penta is taking advantage of the low interest rates on the Czech market: the interest on the new loan is slightly below 3 percent.
