Ahold Delhaize will have to sell American stores

Analysts feel Ahold and Delhaize will have to sell 85 to 100 American stores in order to get their merger approved. Most of those stores would probably be on the American East Coast, where the merger company would otherwise become too dominant.

Top 5 in the United States

“That number may seem high at first, but when you realize they have 2,070 supermarkets, it is a relatively limited impact on the merger company. It is definitely not something that could hinder the merger”, Belgian business paper De Tijd said.

Ahold Delhaize will become one of the five largest supermarket groups in the United States after the merger, with more than 2,000 stores and a 5 % market share. However, its position on the East Coast could become too dominant, with Delhaize’s Food Lion and Hannaford brands and Ahold’s Giant and Stop&Shop brands all active in the region.

Degroof Petercam’s analysts expect the Ahold Delhaize store sales to result in a 1 billion dollar revenue stream and that it will add 40 million dollars to the company profit (based on a 36 billion dollar – 33 billion euro – turnover in the United States).