Frans Muller, CEO of Delhaize. (Photo Credit: Delhaize)
NETHERLANDS
Thursday, June 25, 2015, 23:50 (GMT + 9)
Belgian retailer chain Delhaize Group and the Dutch group Royal Ahold N.V. have announced they joined their businesses through a merger to create a stronger and more innovative retail leader for their customers, associates and shareholders worldwide. This merger will originate the fourth largest supermarket chain in Europe and the fifth in the United States.
"This is a true merger of equals, combining two highly complementary businesses to create a world-leading food retailer. The transaction delivers a compelling value proposition for our shareholders, a superior offering for our customers and attractive opportunities for our associates," pointed out Jan Hommen, Chairman of Ahold, and Mats Jansson, Chairman of Delhaize.
The mergered company, which will be called Ahold Delhaize and will be based in the Netherlands, will offer the opportunity to better compete in its key regions and strengthen its overall market position.
“Ahold Delhaize aims to increase relevance in its local communities by improving the value proposition for its customers through assortment innovation and merchandising, a better shopping experience both in stores and online, investments in value, and new store growth. We look forward to working closely with the Ahold team to implement a smooth integration process and realize the targeted synergies,”stressed Frans Muller, CEO of Delhaize.
Both firms’ managers explained the merger will accelerate innovation, bringing together both companies’ expertise to deliver increased value and choice for customers across its supermarket formats and online platforms.
The new company will have an annual revenue exceeding EUR 54 billion, which is expected to increase in the first year after the transaction comes to an end, scheduled for mid-2016. Besides, it is expected the merger implies anticipated run-rate synergies of EUR 500 million per year to be fully realized in the third year after completion.
Delhaize Group is a Belgian international food retailer present in seven countries on three continents. At the end of March 2015, Delhaize Group’s sales network consisted of 3,410 stores.
Ahold is an international retailing group based in the Netherlands and active in the United States and Europe.