St Petersburg, June 4 - Russia's top grocer, X5, expects Wal-Mart to come to Russia soon and believes the U.S. giant has ambitious plans for the national market, X5 Chief Executive Lev Khasis said on Thursday.
X5 is negotiating takeovers of several Russian peers, including Siberian chain Holiday, and is working on a merger in Ukraine which could be financed by a share issue, he said.
"We are talking about a big deal there. If there is a deal, we will issue new shares," Khasis said.
X5 is pursuing its ambitions even though Khasis said he saw Russian purchasing power continuing to decline.
