France: Carrefour acquires convenience stores from Coop Alsace

Following negotiations started in October 2013, it is reported that Coop Alsace’s Board of Directors has decided to accept Carrefour’s offer to acquire 129 of its convenience stores. A price for the deal has not yet been revealed, according to sources.

The operation is part of a recovery plan aimed at strengthening Coop Alsace’s position, with the company facing a debt of €140 million ($191 million) and losses of €25 million ($34 million) since 2008.  The Carrefour Group claimed that it was committed to transferring 452 Coop employees and would also introduce an element of “cobranding”, so that both Carrefour and Coop logos would be displayed in store.

By selling its stores, Coop will employ fewer than 300 people against 3,000 five years before. The company’s financial woes had already seen it sell off a number of its supermarkets and hypermarkets to Leclerc in 2012.

Source: La Tribune