Sligro to weigh partnership or sale options for EMTÉ stores
20/07/2017 13:15
By Manon Jacob
July 20 (Reuters) - Dutch food retail group Sligro
SLIGR.AS said on Thursday it is weighing strategic options,
including partnership deals and a sale, for its supermarket
chain EMTÉ, which it says is too small to go it alone.
The announcement comes a couple of weeks after media reports
that Dutch supermarket chain Jumbo was seeking to acquire EMTÉ,
possibly in cooperation with supermarket chain Plus.
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It also follows an investment in 2016 of 20 million euros to
upgrade and expand the EMTÉ chain, which has a market share of
2.6 percent.
Sligro said its efforts to boost sales would take longer
than expected to bear fruit. The supermarket chain reported 0.5
percent sales growth in the first half of the year of 2017.
"A potential partnership should prove itself on the
short-term so that we can move forward. If that's not feasible,
we will move on to the sale option," Sligro's Finance Chief Rob
van der Sluijs told Reuters.
"We received interest from almost every player in the Dutch
market. We know everyone very well and we will start formal
discussions after summer," van der Sluijs added.
With about 130 stores in the Netherlands, EMTÉ contributed
827 million euros or about 30 percent of Sligro's total net
sales in 2016.
The business competes with Jumbo and Plus in the Netherlands
as well as with market leader Albert Heijn, owned by Ahold
Delhaize AD.AS , and German discounters Aldi and Lidl.
"The future of the food retail remains uncertain, although
it is clear that SFG (Sligro Food Group) will not maintain a
standalone position. A partnership seems logic at this stage
with Plus being the most likely partner," analysts at Degroof
Petercam wrote in a note to clients.
Though the poor performance of EMTÉ weighed, Sligro reported
an 11 percent rise in first-half gross operating profit to 74
million euros ($85 million), helped by a strong performance at
its food service business.
Sligro announced in May that it expects to sign a deal with
Heineken HEIN.AS to distribute cider and beer in the
Netherlands -- potentially a 150 million euro boost to its food
service business turnover per annum.
($1 = 0.8683 euros)
(Reporting by Manon Jacob and Wout Vergauwen in Gdynia; Editing
by Elaine Hardcastle)
((manon.jacob@thomsonreuters.com; +48 58 772 0920;))
Keywords: SLIGRO FOOD GRP RESULTS/