After several months of negotiations, Klaff Realty, along with Goldman Sachs’ Merchant Bank and the Uruguayan-based Najul family, have acquired the outstanding shares of Tienda Inglesa, a leading Uruguayan grocery chain.  Tienda Inglesa is a high volume, 10-store grocery chain founded in Uruguay in 1870.  The chain employs over 4,400 people and owns the vast majority of its real estate.

About the Ownership:

The Merchant Banking Division (“MBD”) of Goldman Sachs, is an investment division of one of the leading worldwide investment banks.  MBD is the primary center for Goldman Sachs’ long term principal investing activity, and Goldman Sachs has operated this business as an integral part of the firm for 30 years. The group invests in equity and credit across corporate, real estate and infrastructure strategies.  Since 1986, the group has invested approximately $155 billion of levered capital to invest across a number of geographies, industries and transaction types. With nine offices in seven countries around the world, MBD is one of the largest managers of private capital globally, offering deep expertise and long-standing relationships with companies, investors, entrepreneurs and financial intermediaries around the globe.  MBD has been investing in private equity since 1986, distressed debt since 1990, mezzanine debt since 1996 and senior secured loans since 2008. In addition, MBD has invested the firm’s capital in growth stage and technology companies globally since 1982.

Klaff Realty LP is a private investment firm based in Chicago, IL, deploying various alternative asset strategies. Klaff Realty, LP engages in the acquisition, redevelopment and management of commercial real estate and operating companies throughout the United States and Latin America.  To date, Klaff Realty (including through partnerships and entities managed by it or its affiliates) has acquired properties and invested in operating entities that control in excess of 200 million square feet with a value in excess of $17 billion. Klaff Realty works closely with a prominent group of partners, including financial institutions, prominent family offices, and high-net-worth individuals from the United States, Latin America, and Europe.  Together, these partners structure transactions that attempt to provide superior risk-adjusted rates of return for its investors.  The company’s flagship business line has been the acquisition of underperforming retail real estate and operating companies.  This included investing in the acquisition and merger of Albertson’s / Safeway, a US-based grocery chain with over 2,200 stores and $58 billion of annual sales.  Over the past 15 years, Klaff has invested significant capital in Uruguay and Latin America, including residential real estate, retail and distribution businesses. Since 2011, Klaff Realty has acquired over 10,000 hectares of high-quality Uruguayan farmland, acquired a Chilean billboard company, and controls a Uruguayan company that erects miniaturized chlorine plants in Latin America.