By Anna Peverieri
(Reuters) – French supermarket retailer Auchan is in final stages of negotiations to sell its Russian business to Gazprombank, Le Monde reported on Friday, citing no sources.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
Auchan, which has about 30,000 staff, 230 stores and an online business in Russia, has been one of the largest Western companies resisting international pressure and continuing its business as usual in the country after Moscow invaded Ukraine.
KEY QUOTE
“We do not comment on rumors in the market,” Auchan Retail Russia press service told Reuters by email. “For several years now, there have been rumors about the sale of Auchan Retail Russia and the departure of our company from the Russian market, which we have repeatedly denied,” it added.
Auchan’s French parent company did not reply to a request for comment.
CONTEXT
The French online news outlet La Lettre published on Thursday a report that the Mulliez family – which owns Auchan, French retailer Leroy Merlin and French sporting-goods chain Decathlon – entered final negotiations with a local buyer.
Gazprombank is Russia’s third-largest lender by assets and a key conduit of the Russian energy trade. Last year, it acquired 14 MEGA shopping centres in Russia from a unit of IKEA store operator Ingka Group for an undisclosed price. It did not respond to a request for comment.
Should a sale proceed, Auchan would need to pay a special exit tax to the Russian government.
(Reporting by Anna Peverieri; Editing by Rod Nickel)
