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METRO to buy out German operation of Wal-Mart

28 Jul '06

2 min read

METRO AG will take over the German operations of US retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc and thereby clearly strengthen the market position of its hypermarket business Real. The acquisition of 85 hypermarkets enables an ideal extension of Real's current store network and also provides significant synergy effects in the fields of procurement, logistics and administration.

"With this acquisition we complement our store network and increase our power in the German market", said Dr. Hans-Joachim Körber, CEO of the METRO AG. "Through the strengthening of our market presence we will generate noticeable synergy effects. It is also a clear commitment that we believe in the hypermarket business as an effective sales format."

METRO Group acquires all 85 hypermarkets of Wal-Mart Germany which generated with more than 11.000 employees sales of around € 2 bn. in 2005. 19 of the locations are held by freehold and the remaining ones by leasehold.

With the takeover Real will reach a very effective coverage of the German market. The company is aiming for a rapid integration of the new stores into the Real concept and branding.

The takeover has already been approved by the supervisory board of METRO AG, but remains subject to the approval by the anti-trust authorities. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The transaction is not included in the METRO Group sales and earnings outlook for 2006. In 2006 METRO Group will derive a one-off positive earnings effect.

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