Ahold has announced that it is to sell its 60 per cent stake in Sweden-based retail group ICA to co-owner Hakon Invest for SEK 21.2 billion (€2.4 billion) in cash, including ICA’s 2012 dividend of SEK 1.2 billion.
Up until now, ICA was jointly-owned by Ahold (60 per cent) and the Swedish investment fund Hakon Invest AB (40 percent) although decision-making was evenly split.
The divestment comes after Ahold began a review of its holding in the Scandinavian company last September as part of its new growth strategy. The Dutch giant has said it aims to focus on businesses it controls in order to create value.
Hakon Invest and ICA will merge to form a single company called ICA Gruppen.
The deal will have "no direct impact on the joint activities of ICA and Ahold in areas such as sourcing and responsible retailing," Ahold said, adding that this relationship has been in place for over 30 years.
The transaction has yet to be approved by the ICA Retailers’ Association (ICA Forbundet) for the financing of the transaction, and is subject to regulatory approvals, but is expected to be completed by mid-2013.
ICA is the market-leading food retailer in Sweden, with a market share of over 40 per cent. It also has businesses in Norway and the Baltics, operating 2,215 retailer-owned and company-operated stores in total under its ICA and Rimi banners. The group recently reported sales of €11.2 billion for 2012. (11 Feb)
© 2013 - ESM: European Supermarket Magazine by Gordon Hunt
