Diniz raises funds in US to buy control of Carrefour
Abilio Diniz, former chairman of Brazil’s largest retailer Cia. Brasileira de Distribuicao [BOVESPA: PCAR4] and known as Pao de Acucar, has been in the US and raised money to buy control of listed French retailer Carrefour, newsweekly Veja reported in its current issue.
Diniz is looking to buy worldwide control of Carrefour, the large-circulation Portuguese-language magazine revealed in the unsourced report.
The magazine didn’t say how much money Diniz has raised or give the names of the supposed suppliers of the financing.
Diniz acquired 10% of Carrefour Brazil, the second largest retailer in Brazil, in recent years for BRL 1.8bn (USD 587m) and 3.5% of parent company Carrefour for BRL 1.5bn (USD 490m), as reported (the Brazilian real is converted here into US dollars at current exchange rates.)
Peninsula Participacoes, the company managing the Diniz family's fortune, has just concluded a study that pegs the value of its real estate holdings at BRL 5bn (USD 1.6bn), fortnightly business magazine Exame reported in its current issue.
The real estate consists essentially of 60 stores that Peninsula leases to Pao de Acucar, according to the unsourced report in Portuguese-language Exame.
Exame said it had learned that Diniz would reinvest money from selling the stores in real estate. The report in Exame didn’t mention Carrefour.
Trade publication Beefpoint reported last December that among doubts surrounding the deal was how Diniz would maintain his position as chairman of BRF - Brasil Foods [BOVESPA: BRFS3] if he raised his stakes in Carrefour. Brasil Foods, the world’s largest poultry exporter, is one of the largest suppliers to Carrefour, the Portuguese-language Beefpoint wrote.
Diniz has been chairman of BRF since April 2013.
French listed supermarket chain Casino Guichard Perrachon has controlled Pao de Acucar since June 2012.
Pao de Acuar was founded by the father of Abilio Diniz, Valentim, in 1948, Beefpoint wrote.
Veja, Exame, Beefpoint