Ahold Sells Brazilian Chain to U.S.-based Investment Firm
ZAANDAM, Netherlands - Ahold late last week said that had agreed to sell its Brazilian retail chain, G. Barbosa Comercial, Ltda., to an affiliate of ACON Investments, a Washington, D.C.-based investment firm with other retailing investments in Latin America, for an estimated $122.4 million, according to published reports.
The transaction, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2005, is subject to satisfaction of various closing conditions.
G. Barbosa, a food retailer with 32 hypermarkets and supermarkets, does solid business in the northeastern Brazilian states of Sergipe and Bahia. Additionally, the company offers an in-store credit card, CrediHiper.
The divestment of Ahold's activities in Brazil is part of the Dutch retailer's plan to optimize its portfolio and strengthen its financial position by reducing debt. This transaction completes Ahold's Brazilian divestment program. Earlier the company sold about $500 million worth of Brazilian operations, among them the Bompreco supermarket chain, to Wal-Mart.
The transaction, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2005, is subject to satisfaction of various closing conditions.
G. Barbosa, a food retailer with 32 hypermarkets and supermarkets, does solid business in the northeastern Brazilian states of Sergipe and Bahia. Additionally, the company offers an in-store credit card, CrediHiper.
The divestment of Ahold's activities in Brazil is part of the Dutch retailer's plan to optimize its portfolio and strengthen its financial position by reducing debt. This transaction completes Ahold's Brazilian divestment program. Earlier the company sold about $500 million worth of Brazilian operations, among them the Bompreco supermarket chain, to Wal-Mart.