Romania to block Ahold Delhaize’s Profi acquisition?

The Romanian competition authority fears that the acquisition of supermarket chain Profi by Ahold Delhaize would lead to a too strong market position for the Dutch retail group.

Impacting consumers and suppliers

On 30 October 2023, Ahold Dehaize announced that it would pay 1.3 billion euros to acquire Profi Rom Food from investment fund Mid Europa Partners. With this acquisition, Ahold Delhaize would double its size in Romania and add 2.5 billion euros in sales with 1,654 stores to the 969 stores Mega Image, the group’s local brand, currently has in the country.

However, the Romanian competition authority has expressed reservations about the planned acquisition, it said in a press release. The deal could result in consumers having less choice for food purchases, while consolidation could also have a negative impact on suppliers.

In a response, Ahold Delhaize said it is working on “appropriate commitments” to address the competition authority’s concerns. “We are confident that the commitments to be proposed to the competition authority will be satisfactory and adequate to address the concerns raised.”