Russia's Magnit in talks to buy Siberian store operator ETK

MOSCOW, Oct (Shenzhen: 000069.SZ - news) 18 (Reuters) - Russian food retailer Magnit said on Wednesday it was in talks to buy Siberian company ETK which holds lease rights in and around the city of Krasnoyarsk.

Magnit and other Russian retailers are making a push into Siberia, having all but saturated closer and more populous parts of the country in the past two decades.

The low-cost Magnit, which has around 15,000 stores across Russia, said the deal would allow it to open at least 153 discount stores and three hypermarkets with a total selling space of not less than 62,417 square metres.

The company was negotiating terms of the deal with ETK's owners and had filed a request to the competition office for permission to conclude the transaction, it said in a statement.

Magnit is Russia's biggest food retailer by store numbers and ranks number two by sales to X5 Retail Group.

It did not disclose financial details of the proposed transaction. (Reporting by Maria Kiselyova; editing by Jason Neely)