At Ahold and Delhaize‘s extraordinary General Assemblies, shareholders of both companies almost unanimously approved the merger of the Dutch and the Belgian retail giant, with 96.71 % at Delhaize and even 99.97 % at Ahold.
Approved almost unanimously
Despite labour union protests, the Delhaize Group’s shareholders’ meeting took place in a peaceful and speedy manner. Delhaize CEO Frans Muller saw his 1.5 million stay on bonus also approved, even though the majority was far lower, at 59.3 %.
There are however still a few bumps in the road ahead: the Belgian Franchise Federation said it was concerned about the merger’s consequences, particularly the fact that AD Delhaize and Albert Heijn will have to sell five and eight Belgian stores respectively. According to Belgian Competitive Authority’s design agreement, these stores should close or be sold to guarantee an honest competitive position. On 17 March, The Belgian Competitive Authority will issue a final decision on the number and location of the supermarkets that have to be cut.
