Luxembourg-based SCP Group has entered into an agreement to acquire the entire business of Real hypermarket from German wholesaler, Metro.
The transaction includes 276 Real stores, its digital business (including the online marketplace real.de), 80 real estate properties, and all companies affiliated to Real.
The investment firm has partnered with x+bricks Group to oversee the repositioning of the business' real estate portfolio.
The partners will initiate a process to define viable concepts for the future of all Real stores after the closing of the deal, Metro said in a statement.
Future Of Employees
SCP Group will retain all of the approximately 34,000 Real employees with their present contracts under existing conditions, Metro said.
Olaf Koch, CEO of Metro AG, said, "It is important to us that the majority of today’s Real stores will continue to operate in some form in the future. Thereby, many of the experienced and qualified Real employees will have good prospects of continuing their employment going forward.
"Further, all employees have additional security through a works council agreement jointly concluded with the General Works Council. Our partners SCP Group and x+bricks Group have the necessary experience and network to ensure that remarketing of Real stores is economically viable and in the best interest of all employees."
CEO of SCP Group, Marjorie Brabet-Friel, urged for a "constructive dialogue" with all stakeholders to decide the future course of action.
She added, "The future of the real employees is important to us and we will try to avoid store closures and lay-offs as far as possible. However, our approach will depend on the joint commitment from all interested parties."
Repositioning Plan
As part of the repositioning plan, SCP Group is likely to divest a majority of Real stores to other German retailers and resell the digital business.
The stores will be sold in separate transactions, subject to approval by the relevant antitrust authorities.
The investment firm also plans to partially divide stores into smaller areas for alternative uses.
A total of 50 'core' stores under the Real banner will continue to operate for the next 24 months.
Elsewhere, Metro expects a net cash inflow of around €300 million following the closing of the transaction, which is subject to the approval of regulatory and competition authorities.
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
