Ahold & Delhaize May Sell Stores for Merger Approval
BELGIUM - Prospective merger mates Ahold and Delhaize have announced they may be selling a number of their Belgium-area stores to help assuage potential regulatory agency concerns. The fear may be that the retailers would have too much of a competitive advantage without the sale of the locations.
Issued in an emailed statement, Reuters reports that Ahold and Delhaize confirmed that stores from both its respective brands would be on the chopping block. While not yet confirmed, local Belgian news sources find that Ahold will be selling eight of its Albert Heijn markets, while Delhaize has chosen to sell five of its eponymously franchised stores.
Ahold and Delhaize’s impending $28 billion merger was announced in June 2015, creating a portfolio of more than 6,500 stores, nearly 2,300 of which are in 14 states and the District of Columbia, according to both company websites. In Belgium alone, there are 880 Delhaize supermarkets and around 50 of Ahold’s Albert Heijn stores.
Annual sales for the combined company would equal as much as $60 billion (54 billion euros), according to Reuters.
AndNowUKnow will update you with more as its revealed.
