Couche-Tard confirms Carrefour offer despite French hurdles bnnbloomberg.ca - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bnnbloomberg.ca Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Publishing date: Jan 13, 2021 • January 13, 2021 • 4 minute read •
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(Bloomberg) A Canadian convenience-store operator is daring to go where foreign buyers often fail, offering $20 billion for French retailer Carrefour SA.
Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. proposed buying the French company for 20 euros a share, confirming an earlier Bloomberg report. That represents a roughly 29% premium to its closing price Tuesday. Terms are under discussion, but payment is expected to be largely in cash, the Quebec-based retailer said.
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The bid faces a number of challenges, not least France’s sometimes frosty reaction to takeovers of its blue-chip companies. Carrefour is the country’s largest private employer, making the approach potentially sensitive at a time when the Covid crisis has thrust jobs t
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Christinne Muschi/The Globe and Mail
Canadian convenience store giant Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. says it has approached French grocer Carrefour SA with a view to striking a friendly transaction in what would be a significant shift in strategy for the Circle K brand owner.
Couche-Tard said in a statement late on Tuesday it has initiated “exploratory discussions” with Carrefour about a deal, the terms of which are still subject to discussion. At this stage, it is unclear whether the talks will result in an agreement or transaction, the company said. Carrefour also confirmed “very preliminary” discussions were under way.
(Bloomberg) Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., the Canadian convenience-store giant that owns the Circle K chain, is exploring a potential acquisition of French grocer Carrefour SA, people with knowledge of the matter said.
(Jan 13): Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc, the Canadian owner of Circle K convenience stores, is exploring a takeover of French grocer Carrefour SA in a roughly US$20 billion deal that would create a trans-Atlantic retail giant.
Couche-Tard’s initial proposal values the French company at about 20 euros per share, people with knowledge of the matter said. That would represent a roughly 29% premium to its Tuesday closing price.
Shares of Carrefour rose 14% in Paris on Wednesday, trading shy of 18 euros. Couche-Tard slipped 2.2% after a Bloomberg report on the talks, valuing the company at almost C$46 billion (US$36 billion).
Couche-Tard confirmed Tuesday that it has started “exploratory discussions” on a friendly deal with Carrefour.