Coop Alsace yesterday announced that it has entered into exclusive talks with Carrefour to sell 144 stores.
The Board of Directors of Coop Alsace decided on Saturday to open exclusive talks with Carrefour for a period of three months. This project was presented yesterday morning at Reichstett central works council.
"The Carrefour group is ready to take over 90% of our 144 stores and is committed to continue to offer products of our butchers in stores again," says the CEO of Coop Alsace Duvillet. An agreement of "co-branding" was established between the two chains for the 114 stores, so that they will display both Coop and Carrefour logos.
"The 144 stores now employ 440 people out of a total of 700 employees. The Carrefour Group is committed to take the entire store staff they will purchase," said Coop Alsace in a statement. Fifteen stores are not part of the takeover offer and Coop are currently looking for a solution for continued work to keep them open.
Carrefour was preferred to his rival, the Casino Group, which had earlier in the year also been involved in acquisition talks.
Coop Alsace was close to filing for bankruptcy in 2011 and committed instead to a major restructuring.
Casino Group themselves announced yesterday that they have reached an agreement with Co-Normandy Picardy Mutant to buy 47 stores in the south west of France and to pass 90 others located in Normandy and Picardy to Leader Price.
