DE4CC0DE-5FC3-4494-BCBF-4D50B00366B5

Metro Intends To Sell Real Hypermarket Business 'As A Whole'

By Steve Wynne-Jones
Share this article
Metro Intends To Sell Real Hypermarket Business 'As A Whole'

Wholesaler Metro has said that it still intends to sell its Real hypermarket business 'as a whole', despite suggestions in the German media that Kaufland may be poised to take over 80 to 100 sites.

Lebensmittel Zeitung reported that the Schwarz Group-owned discounter is eyeing a partial takeover of the group, with the news portal also reporting that Morgan Stanley, real estate developer Redos and Cerebrus are also waiting in the wings.

In response, a Metro spokesperson told ESM that the wholesaler '[does] not comment on individual names in the ongoing divestment process. However, you can assume that we are currently holding talks with a number of interested parties.

'It remains our intention to sell Real as a whole'.

Timetable

Last September, announcing the proposed sale, Metro announced a timetable for this process lasting between six to eight months, and the spokesperson said that this process was still on track.

ADVERTISEMENT

'We are fully on schedule. Non-disclosure agreements have been signed, the data room is open. All parties know the timeline.'

Yesterday, Metro said that like-for-like sales at its Real hypermarket business were down 0.5% in the first quarter of the year, with reported sales down 1.5% due to two temporary store closures.

It also notably described the Real business as 'discontinued operations', indicating that a sale could be imminent. Real boasts 279 stores across Germany.

© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.

Get the week's top grocery retail news

The most important stories from European grocery retail direct to your inbox every Thursday

Processing your request...

Thanks! please check your email to confirm your subscription.

By signing up you are agreeing to our terms & conditions and privacy policy. You can unsubscribe at any time.