French supermarket chain Carrefour announced several months ago that it would sell its business in Argentina – and the race to acquire the giant is heating up.
The deadline for first-round offers expires this week, beginning a due diligence period overseen by Deutsche Bank, the institution tasked with managing the process. Non-binding bids must specify the amount, form of financing and funding sources, according to reports.
The exit of one of the biggest players in the domestic supermarket industry – which operates nearly 700 outlets nationwide – sparked immediate interest from a wide range of potential buyers. The list of interested parties has grown in recent weeks, adding to the sense of competition.
Potential buyers range from supermarket owners to textile industry entrepreneurs. The list of interested parties has grown in recent weeks, but one is said to be leading the pack.
Reports indicate that the frontrunner is businessman and former lawmaker Francisco De Narváez, president of Grupo de Narváez, which in 2020 acquired the ChangoMás chain from US multinational Walmart. His main rival at the time, Alfredo Coto of the Coto supermarket empire, is expected to challenge him again.
Other possible bidders include Cencosud SA, the Chilean group that owns the Jumbo and Disco chains, and La Anónima, the Braun family’s Patagonia-based retailer, which is said to be eyeing Carrefour’s larger stores.
Foreign operators could also enter the fray, with speculation that Walmart may even return, though the extent of its interest remains unclear.
A handful of outsiders such as Decathlon, Inverlat, Mercado Libre, Cedeapsa and Newsan have also been linked.
Two conditions have already shaped negotiations: future owners will not be able to use the Carrefour brand in Argentina and they must take on any pending labour disputes arising from the handover. Those requirements have narrowed the serious contenders to a handful of players with the required finances.
The domestic shortlist now has three main competitors: De Narváez, the Coto family and the Braun family.
De Narváez is reportedly considering using the Carrefour network to accelerate ChangoMás’ national reach. Coto wants to build a presence outside Buenos Aires through Carrefour’s smaller Express stores, while La Anónima is focused on acquiring some of the chain’s biggest premises.
Carrefour’s Argentine business, valued by Deutsche Bank at around US$1 billion, was initially expected to fetch close to US$2 billion, though speculation now suggests a final deal will be closer to US$800 million than US$1 billion.
The firm’s network includes about 80 supermarkets, 80 large-format outlets, 35 wholesale stores and 450 Express branches. The company employs roughly 17,000 people across 22 provinces and 100 cities, with annual sales of roughly US$6 billion.
The French firm’s executives have framed the decision to exit as part of an “internal reorganisation” and move to focus on strategic markets. The timing was influenced by the lifting of foreign exchange restrictions, which opened a window for capital transfer.
Carrefour has long been active in Argentina. It opened its first large supermarket in San Isidro in 1982, during the Malvinas War, and boomed in the 1990s.
Over four decades, it has built a valuable real-estate portfolio in strategic urban locations with a presence across several retail formats.
The immediate challenge now is to define the terms of the sale and decide who will take over its business.
– TIMES/NA/PERFIL
