Carrefour to take over Chris Cash and Carry

CARREFOUR Marinopoulos yesterday announced it had reached a £21.6 million agreement with the Chris Cash and Carry supermarket chain to take over the company.

An announcement issued by Carrefour said it had reached an agreement with Andreas Andreou, the chain’s CEO and majority shareholder, to establish an SPV – an organisation constructed with a limited purpose of life – that would launch a tender offer for the company’s entire share capital at a price of 32 cents per share.

The SPV would be entirely owned by Carrefour Marinopoulos.

Total equity for Chris Cash and Carry has been valued at £21.6 million.

Andreou would tender all his company shares to this public offer and after the closing date he will participate in the SPV with a 49.9 per cent stake.

The remaining 50.1 per cent would be owned by Carrefour Marinopoulos.

Upon completion of the procedure and fulfilment of certain conditions, including approval by the authorities, Chris Cash and Carry’s daily operations would be taken over by Carrefour Marinopoulos.

According to the announcement, Chris Cash and Carry is the number two food retailer on the island with £55.3 million in net sales last year.

The company operates three hypermarkets and three supermarkets and is preparing to open its fourth supermarket this July.

Carrefour SA is the number one food retailer in Greece with 2.04 billion euros in net sales for 2004.

Carrefour, the largest retailer in Europe and Latin America and the first international retailer in Asia, struck a partnership with Greece’s Marinopoulos five years ago.

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