Carrefour to buy Brazilian food retailer in €1.1bn deal

French supermarket chain Carrefour has agreed to buy Brazilian food retailer Grupo BIG from Advent International and Walmart in a €1.1bn deal.

The company said on Wednesday that the acquisition strengthens Carrefour Brazil’s presence in "this high growth potential market".

"It will allow it to offer Brazilian consumers a broader range of products and services at more competitive prices," Carrefour added.

Combined, the two groups have gross sales of about R$100bn, operate 876 stores and employ around 137,000 people. Present in Brazil since 1995, Grupo BIG operates a multi-format network of 387 stores and generated R$24.9bn gross sales and R$928m adjusted EBITDA in 2020.

Carrefour chairman and chief executive officer Alexandre Bompard said: "Our group is on the offensive: The acquisition of the BIG Group is a major transformation movement for Carrefour Brazil. In this continental country with immense development prospects, we have accentuated our leadership in the food distribution market over the past three years, and BIG will further strengthen it with very complementary formats and locations.

"The transaction fits perfectly into the Carrefour Brazil ecosystem and into the group's acquisition strategy, centred on the consolidation of our key markets. The significant synergies generated by this transaction are a lever for creating additional value and a powerful addition to the profitable growth model that we have established across our group."