General
Walmart will move forward with the planned sale of its British subsidiary Asda. Three investment companies are said to be interested in the supermarket chain.
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Food
German wholesaler Metro has been approached by American catering multinational Sysco about a takeover. The Americans want to buy Metro in order to continue their European expansion.
Dutch eyewear retailer GrandVision suffered a profit drop last year, despite a 9 % turnover rise. Moreover, the acquisition by EssilorLuxottica is still on hold as European competition authorities want to further look into the deal.
Fashion
Investment fund Sycamore Partners takes a majority share in American lingerie retailer Victoria's Secret, in a move which sees its owner's CEO Leslie Wexner steps down. The agreed fee of 525 million dollars (485 million euros) should allow the parent company to reduce its debts.
Authentic Brands Group, Simon Property Group and Brookfield Property Group have finally completed their acquisition of ailing fashion chain Forever 21.
Investment group SCP (from Luxembourg, but with Russian backers) has acquired Metro's ailing hypermarket chain Real. The German chain is to be cut in pieces, 10,000 jobs are threatened.
An enigma, that is the man who just bought Blokker's Belgium branch and wants to turn it into a discounter. We tried to shed some light on the notoriously reclusive Mega World owner.
Furniture
The Dutch Blokker chain is leaving Belgium and Luxembourg: owner Mirage Retail Group sells its 123 stores in both countries to the Dutch Retail Groep. In the coming months, they will be converted into 'Mega World' discount stores.
Carrefour has acquired thirty Makro stores in Brazil and further strengthens its position in what is for the French group a hugely important market.
French luxury house LVMH has been given the green light for the acquisition of Tiffany & Co by the shareholders of the jewellery chain. Now all that is left is the approval by the competition watchdog.
French distributor of office and school supplies Bureau Vallée has acquired its Belgian counterpart Buro Market, as a new step in the company’s international expansion.
French payment solution provider Worldline has acquired its compatriot and competitor Ingenico for 7.8 billion euros to form the world's fourth company in the field. The deal is partly paid in shares.
Swiss retailer Migros has sold its department store chain Globus to a joint venture of Austrian Signa and the Central Group from Thailand. The Austrians are building a department store empire throughout Europe, after acquiring (amongst others) Kaufhaus and Karstadt.
Competing eyewear retailers are concerned about the acquisition of GrandVision by industry giant EssilorLuxottica. They have voiced their grievances to the European Commission, which has yet to approve the takeover.
Electronics
Dutch electronics giant Philips is going to divest its household appliances division. As such, the manufacturer is will soon say goodbye to its vacuum cleaners, coffee makers and irons.
What does Daniel Kretinsky have in mind for Casino and Metro? The unruly Czech investor, with a penchant for sectors 'on their way back', has set his sights on the European hypermarket sector, but what are his intentions?
