France Blocks Grocery Chain Acquisition by Couche-Tard
However, both companies agree to work on future partnership opportunities.
Jan 19, 2021 | 2 min read
LAVAL, Canada—The French government has quashed the offer from Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. to purchase Carrefour SA, the hypermarket chain, saying the deal would threaten jobs and endanger France’s food security during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Wall Street Journal reports.
As NACS Daily reported last week, Couche-Tard offered to buy Carrefour for 16.1 billion euros (about $19.66 billion), a move that would have created the world’s third-largest grocery retailer, behind Walmart and Lidl owner Schwarz Group. But in a Friday closed-door meeting in Paris, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told Couche-Tard Chairman Alain Bouchard that the deal was a no-go.
Le Maire said the sale would put France’s food security and thousands of jobs at risk. Carrefour is one of the country’s largest employers with 12,000 traditional supermarkets and convenience stores. Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters he was aware of discussions between Couche-Tard and the French government but declined to comment further.
Public fears over food and equipment shortages soared in the spring 2020 as borders closed and governments rushed to secure medical equipment and pandemic safety gear, such as surgical masks. The U.K. and several European governments have taken steps to prepare to block foreign takeovers in industries deemed strategic or important to the country’s national security.
Currently, the French government can block takeovers of domestic companies by foreign buyers in strategic sectors, such as energy, defense and the food distribution. The use of lockdowns to fight COVID-19 has underscored the vital role that grocers like Carrefour play in delivering essential goods to the public, Le Maire told French TV reporters.
Once the deal fell through, the two companies announced plans to work on partnership opportunities, Reuters reported. They said they’ll look to share best practices on fuel, pool purchasing volumes and partner on private labels.
The 31-year-old Couche-Tard is the largest independent convenience store operator in North America by number of stores, operating under brands such as the Corner Store, Circle K and Holiday. In addition, it operates a network of gas stations in Europe and has stores there and elsewhere in the world.
Europe
