Carrefour and Casino favourites to acquire Dia France; Colruyt could be interested
The listed French retailer Carrefour and Casino Guichard Perrachon are understood to be favourites in the auction for Dia France, part of the listed, Spanish supermarkets group Distribuidora Internacional de Alimentacion [DIA SM], French weekly LSA reported.
The article cited a source close to Dia as saying Dia France has attracted a lot of interest, adding that the sale is expected to conclude shorty. Another French source claimed the deal could be finalised by the end of the next month.
The report noted the FO labour union published a tweet this week saying Dia France was on the verge of being sold.
According to the report, Carrefour and Casino are the last remaining potential buyers which are bidding for the entire business, while competitor Intermarche is believed to have walked out.
However, an acquisition by Casino could raise competition issues, with an expert claiming that Casino would have to sell back 100 stores at least, the article added.
Another expert said the most interesting assets of Dia France are its 300 stores operating in the southern regions of France, and its 200 outlets located in Paris and its suburbs.
Dia France, which operates 840 outlets, could be valued between EUR 150m and EUR 200m. The unit, whose assets are valued at about EUR 500m, owes a debt of EUR 200m and generated operating losses of EUR 25m in 2013.
Another unsourced report from daily Le Figaro also mentioned the Dutch retailer Colruyt as a potential buyer for Dia France.
Source LSA, Le Figaro