Carrefour, Piccadilly retailers merger in Bulgaria called off
Bulgarian supermarket chain Piccadilly’s proposed merger with retail group Carrefour’s franchisee in Bulgaria has been cancelled, according to reports in Bulgarian media on July 20.
Greece’s Marinopoulos Group, which holds the Carrefour franchise in Bulgaria, was to merge its subsidiary in the country with AP Mart, Piccadilly’s owner, and receive a 50 per cent stake in the resulting company following a equity injection of 46 million leva (about 23.5 million euro).
The equity hike never happened and now both companies will continue operating separately, following a period of several months during which both retailers have experienced cash flow issues and racked up debts to suppliers, a report by business news website Investor.bg said. Another report claimed that Piccadilly paid off most debts after taking a 11.8 million euro earlier this year.
Piccadilly was part of Belgian retailer Delhaize, acquired as part of the acquisition of Serbia’s Delta Maxi group in 2011, until Delhaize decided to exit Bulgaria last year, selling the chain to AP Mart, a newly-set up company with Bulgarian owners.
(Photo: Piccadilly Supermarkets via Facebook)
