Colombia: Grupo Exito expands internationally with acquisitions in Argentina and Brazil

Colombia: Grupo Exito expands internationally with acquisitions in Argentina and Brazil

Grupo Exito, the leading Colombian supermarket that also has a presence in Uruguay, has announced the acquisition of the Argentinean chain of hypermarkets Libertad. In the same transaction, the group also acquired 50% of the voting shares of the Brazilian chain GPA (Grupo Pao de Acucar), equivalent to 18.8% of total capital of the firm.

The value of the transaction is said to be in the order of $ 1.826 billion. The company claimed that, once revenues from Brazil and Argentina are consolidated, Grup Exito will become the leading retailer in South Americ with sales of over $33 billion (2014) and an unrivalled position in Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, and Uruguay, reaching 75% of the region’s population.

"As we set out in our strategic definition, we are now making real the idea of having a “multi-Latino” Grupo Exito together with the management of Grupo Pao de Acucar", stated Grupo Exito’s CEO, Carlos Mario Giraldo Moreno. "We love the challenge of becoming the largest retail company in South America and will work to achieve the proposed results and continue our expansion. The customer will remain at the center of the Organization in each country in which we operate”.

Source: Grupo Exito / America Retail