Estonian economy is starting 2026 on a positive note, with one of the most consequential deals of recent years, with domestic investors stepping in big time. Coop Estonia, the country’s largest grocery chain, has agreed to acquire all 13 Prisma Peremarket supermarkets from Finnish retail group SOK — in what is described as the largest domestic retail transaction in Estonia’s history, per ERR.
Prisma, which has operated in Estonia since 2000 and is part of Finland’s S-Group cooperative, employs over 700 people across stores in Tallinn, Tartu, Narva, Rapla and Harju County. Once the Estonian Competition Authority signs off on the deal — expected later this year — all stores will be rebranded under the Coop banner and staff will transfer accordingly. The financial terms have not been disclosed.
For Coop, the strategic focus is Tallinn. Despite being the national market leader with a 23 per cent share and revenues of €856M in 2024, the cooperative has historically been stronger outside the capital.
Nine of the 13 Prisma stores are in Tallinn, and the deal will lift Coop’s share there from roughly 5 per cent to over 15 per cent. The stores will be managed not by Coop centrally, but by regional cooperatives — nine falling under Coop Harju, with others run by cooperatives in Tartu, Rapla, and Narva.
The Prisma brand is not part of the transaction, but the relationship between the two groups does not end at the handover. Coop and SOK have agreed to pursue ongoing commercial cooperation: Finnish and Scandinavian products — including SOK’s own-label, allergy-friendly and specialist lines — will be rolled out across Coop’s wider network of 320 stores, while Estonian producers will gain a new route into Scandinavian markets through SOK.
Sokos Hotel Viru, also part of the SOK portfolio in Estonia, is not affected by the transaction and will continue operating as normal.
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