Carrefour has announced that it has reached an agreement with the Louis Delhaize group to acquire Cora and Match in France.
The Cora and Match chains operate 60 hypermarkets and 115 supermarkets, and they employ approximately 24,000 people in France. The transaction includes the acquisition of 55 hypermarkets and 77 supermarkets.
According to Alexandre Bompard, chairman and CEO of Carrefour: “This is Carrefour’s first major acquisition in France in over 20 years. It consolidates the leadership of the group in food retail on the French market. The friendly transaction will enable Carrefour to continue the adventure started in France by the Bouriez family and the Louis Delhaize group, with which the group shares a common culture, history and values. I would like to pay tribute to them, and to the Cora and Match teams, whose expertise, commitment and entrepreneurial culture will be an asset for our group. This transaction also demonstrates our ability to pursue our strategy of external growth through targeted acquisitions, which will generate market share and synergies, thanks to the transformation undertaken 6 years ago and the strength of our balance sheet. The Carrefour group will be able to bring a powerful commercial and operational model, highly complementary to the know-how of Cora and Match, thanks to its own brand, digital acceleration and its priority, which is food transition for all.”
The Carrefour and Louis Delhaize groups have been partners for a long time, sharing strong historical and cultural ties. The first Cora store that opened in 1966 in Garges-lès-Gonesses (Val d’Oise) was one of the first Carrefour franchises. More recently, Carrefour and Cora have joined forces in terms of purchases. Finally, on April 27th, Carrefour announced the acquisition of Cora's activities in Romania, which should be effective by the end of 2023, according to the press release.
“The acquisition of Cora and Match enables the Carrefour group to reaffirm its leadership on the French market, at a time when external growth opportunities for quality assets are rare. The Cora and Match store networks have excellent locations and offer a strong geographical fit with the Carrefour network. Cora and Match have already developed recognized operational know-how and concepts. These stores will now benefit from all the strengths of the Carrefour group, including a dynamic of constant market share gains for over two years, leading brands, a recognized range of Carrefour products, proven operational excellence in pricing and promotional actions, and a strong e-commerce presence (Click & Collect and home delivery). These elements have enabled Carrefour to significantly improve its sales momentum and profitability in France over the past 6 years, especially in hypermarkets. The acquired stores will also take part in the implementation of the strategic initiatives of the Carrefour 2026 plan and benefit from the method of ‘Maxi’ competitiveness and productivity.”
The transaction must meet the usual conditions for acquisition and still needs to be approved by the French competition authorities. Given the strong geographic complementarity of the two groups, Carrefour considers that the competitive stakes are limited. The acquisition is expected to be finalized by the summer of 2024.
For more information:
carrefour.com/fr