German retailer Metro AG faces a shake-up of its shareholder structure, as Ceconomy announced that it may join family-owned Haniel in selling a stake in the German retailer to an investor group led by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky.
Ceconomy said on Monday that it was in talks to sell most of its 10% stake in Metro to investor group EP Investment, represented by Kretinsky.
"A decision whether and under which terms and conditions a share purchase agreement might be concluded has yet not been taken," Ceconomy said via a statement.
Share Price Impact
Shares in Metro rose by 5.1%, to the top of Germany's mid-cap index in early Frankfurt trading, while Ceconomy was up by 3%.
Investment group Haniel had said on Friday that it had agreed to sell a 7.3% stake in Metro to an investment vehicle of Kretinsky and Slovak investor Patrik Tkac for an undisclosed sum.
Under the terms of the deal, they can acquire Haniel's remaining 15.2% stake under a call option.
Haniel is Metro's largest shareholder, with 22.5%, which was worth €977 million ($1.12 billion) at Friday's closing price. Ceconomy owns around 10%.
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