Three candidates are said to have come forward to take over Carrefour‘s Romanian operations. They include French retailer Auchan, Polish group Zabka, and the owners behind a local DIY chain.
No official announcement
It has been known for some time that Carrefour is conducting a thorough evaluation of its international activities. The French group has since sold its Italian division, is said to have commissioned investment bank JP Morgan to sell its Polish activities, Deutsche Bank is to prepare a sale of Argentina, and BNP Paribas is reportedly looking for a buyer for the Romanian stores.
Meanwhile, three bidders have reportedly come forward for the Romanian branch, according to the website profit.ro. The best-known name is Auchan, the French group that operates 26 hypermarkets in the country, as well as several ATAC discount stores, supermarkets, and several hundred neighborhood stores. The Polish group Zabka, which operates more than 100 convenience stores in Romania under the Froo brand, is also said to have shown interest. A surprising third bidder is Pavăl Holding, the investment vehicle of the Pavăl brothers, owners of the DIY chain Dedeman: they are not yet active in the food sector.
Carrefour currently operates 458 stores in Romania, which generated sales of €2.3 billion in the first nine months of the year. It is the third largest player on the Romanian market after Lidl and Kaufland. The French group entered the country in 2001 and took over Cora in 2023. So far, those involved have not commented on the news. Carrefour emphasizes that it has not yet made an official announcement about its future plans in Romania.
