Casino rejects merger approach that Carrefour denies making
Two of France’s biggest supermarket groups were locked in a dispute on Monday after Casino said it had rejected a tie-up approach from larger rival Carrefour that Carrefour denied ever making.
Two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters there had been a meeting on Sept. 12 between Carrefour head Alexandre Bompard and Casino’s boss JeanCharles Naouri to discuss a broad range of topics regarding opportunities for the two.
However, a French government source said the government - which might typically expect to be notified - was not aware of any merger talks between the companies.
France’s supermarket groups are looking for ways to bolster profits after a protracted price war at home, and are also under pressure to modernise to counter the moves of online giant Amazon and others into the sector.
Analysts said any merger between Carrefour and Casino was bound to attract close scrutiny by competition regulators, given Carrefour is France’s second-largest chain with a 20 percent market share and Casino has nearly 12 percent.
Casino, whose shares have slumped this year due to concerns over its debt, said it had been contacted by Carrefour in recent days over a possible tie-up, adding its board of directors met on Sunday and “unanimously” decided to reject the approach.
“The board of directors also acknowledged the barriers, in France and in Brazil, to a combination with Carrefour, especially in terms of competition and employment,” the owner of Monoprix and Geant supermarkets said in a statement. (RTRS)