FRANCE – Carrefour has entered into an agreement with Dairy Farm to acquire its proximity stores in Taiwan, further consolidating the French retailer’s position as the one of the leading multi-format food retailer in that market.

The transaction involves Dairy Farm’s 224 proximity stores in Taiwan, 199 Wellcome – and 25 Jasons, as well as a warehouse for an enterprise value is EUR 97 million (US$108.37m).

By combining these businesses, Carrefour said that customers and team members will benefit from the group’s greater strength and scale while allowing Carrefour to accelerate its development in Taiwan in the fast-growing proximity format.

Carrefour currently operates 137 stores in Taiwan, including 69 proximity stores under the Market banner. The Group posted net sales in the country of EUR 1.968 billion (US$2.20bn) in 2019 while Wellcome Taiwan posted net sales of around  EUR 390 million (US$435.73m) in the same year.

The transaction is subject to customary conditions and is expected to close by end-2020.  If the transaction closes, Carrefour will become the local number 2 in Taiwan’s fast-growing proximity format stores.

Carrefour said that it plans to convert the Wellcome stores to the Market banner within 12 months after the closing of the transaction, and then convert Jasons stores to a Carrefour premium banner.

“The converted stores will benefit from Carrefour’s commercial policy and purchasing conditions. The Group thus plans to improve commercial density and optimize the cost structure,” the company said in a statement.

“In addition, Wellcome will bring its recognized expertise in fresh produce and will contribute to the development of food e-commerce, each store becoming a new pick-up point for e-commerce orders.”

In February this year, the French retailer signed an agreement with Makro Atacadista SA to acquire 30 Cash & Carry stores in Brazil in a transaction is valued at US$452 million. In September last year, the company has also sold its 80% stake in Carrefour’s China business for US$670 million to Chinese retail giant Suning.