Bernstein Lifts Żabka Group Price Target on Couche-Tard Takeover Offer

04:31 AM EDT, 08/20/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Bernstein raised its price target for Żabka Group (ZAB.WA) on expectations that Alimentation Couche-Tard's voluntary tender offer for the Polish convenience-store operator is "likely to be successful." The Canadian retail giant is offering Żabka shareholders 32 Polish zloty per share, valuing the target company at 32.62 billion zloty. In a Wednesday note, Bernstein said the offer price represents a 9% premium to the pre-announcement share price, a level it added was "disappointing" for investors, though it does not see "any likely mechanism" for the offer to improve. "We do not know whether investors will 'take it.' Owning a minority stake of a subsidiary of a conglomerate is a different proposition [from] owning a stake in a standalone company, which private equity owners are slowly exiting. We do not believe this will appeal to most investors. Couche-Tard ownership may be more focused on growth than capital returns... Further, the announced synergies are primarily growth/revenue synergies, which will apply to the combined group, not necessarily the standalone Zabka entity. Since the announcement, Zabka shares have traded at c.PLN 31.50, suggesting a belief that the tender offer will be successful," the note said. Accordingly, analysts increased their price target to 32 zloty from 30 zloty, adding that they expect the target to serve as both a floor and ceiling for the stock. In the same research report, Bernstein updated its model for the outperform-rated stock to reflect its second-quarter results, including better-than-expected 4% like-for-like growth. As such, the research firm's EPS forecasts for full-year 2026 and 2028 were marginally raised, while its 2027 EPS estimate edged down.