New bid by Auchan for Carrefour in the making?

French supermarket chain Auchan may be preparing a new bid for its competitor Carrefour with the backing of some investors, after its intended target rejected a previous takeover attempt three months ago.

Investors

Auchan is planning to make a new bid for Carrefour, Belgian newspaper De Tijd reports based on articles by Bloomberg and Les Echos. The owning family Mulliez would be prepared to pay 23.5 euros per share, supported by investment companies such as CVC, KKR and CD&R. Yesterday, the price of the Carrefour share already rose by 6 % in anticipation.

In the autumn of last year, Auchan already attempted to buy Carrefour at 21.5 euros per share, which would have been partially paid in shares. Carrefour eventually turned down the offer, but in December, rumours regarding new talks between the major family shareholders of both companies already surfaced again.

Together, both retailers would become the undisputed market leader in France. Still, many analysts question a merger, mainly because the possibilities of synergy are somewhat limited. Apart from that, it is uncertain whether the competition watchdog would approve a merger just like that.