Dutch investment company Parcom and the owners of the Jumbo supermarket group have reached a provisional agreement to buy high street staple Hema for some €440m in a 50/50 joint venture, Hema said on Wednesday.

Hema has been in the hands of a number of major debtors since mid June, who are keen to sell the company on. Talks with Parcom and the Jumbo family company Mississippi Ventures began last week. Jumbo and Hema already work together in cross sales.

Hema has been lumbered with huge debts for years by a variety of different private equity investors and the coronavirus crisis only made things worse. The company has been loss making since 2013 and its current debt stands at over €750m.

The Parcom Jumbo consortium will now carry out due diligence research and finalise Dutch bank financing, Hema said in a statement. The deal is likely to be finalised in early 2021.