Carrefour SA, France’s largest retailer, is in talks to invest in Victory Supermarket Chain Ltd., seeking a slice of Israel’s almost $9 billion retail market.
Stocks in Victory jumped to a record after the Gan Yavne, Israel-based chain confirmed press reports it’s in talks with Carrefour about an investment. The possible deal comes as Victory is planning to submit a bid for Alon Blue Square Israel Ltd.’s debt-ridden Mega Supermarket Chain, the company said in a Tel Aviv bourse filing.
Victory last year raised debt for the first time as the country’s fourth-largest listed retailer by sales seeks to fund expansion and acquire Mega outlets as Alon Blue restructures amid a fight to stay in business. Rami Levy Chain Stores Hashikma Marketing 2006 Ltd., the second-biggest retail network, said on Wednesday that it will submit a bid for the troubled chain.
The prospect of consolidation in the industry has stoked share prices. Shufersal Ltd., the biggest retail chain by sales, has risen 6.5 per cent this year. Victory increased 5 per cent in the same period, compared with a 3.3 per cent decline in the TA-25 benchmark index.
Victory advanced 6.1 per cent to 34.60 shekels, the highest on record, at the close in Tel Aviv as about 18 times the three-month daily average of shares traded.
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