According to French media the letter, Ahold Delhaize reportedly began confidential talks with Carrefour at the end of last year with the aim of acquiring the French group. However, the negotiations reportedly broke down in January.
The contacts between the two giants of large-scale distribution would have taken place directly, without the intermediation of investment banks. On one side, the CEO of Ahold Delhaize, Frans Muller, on the other, the top of Carrefour, led by Alexandre Bompard with CFO Matthieu Malige and general secretary Laurent Vallée.
The deal, if it had gone through, would have raised serious competition issues in key markets such as Romania and Belgium. In addition, the French government has always been cautious about acquisitions of large national companies by foreign groups, as already happened in 2021 with the attempt by Canadian Couche-Tard, which also failed for political reasons.
The background highlights the fragile state of Carrefour, whose low market value makes it a potential acquisition target. Despite a turnover of close to 80 billion euros – not far from the 90 billion of the Dutch-Belgian group – Carrefour’s capitalization is around 10 billion, compared to the over 30 billion of Ahold Delhaize. At the moment, neither company has released official statements on the matter.
