PARIS (Reuters) – Auchan does not plan to make a hostile move for Carrefour after the latter broke off talks over a tie-up between the two French retail groups, business daily Les Echos said on Sunday.
Le Figaro, another French daily, had reported on Saturday that Carrefour decided to end discussions with Auchan after judging a potential deal as too complex.
Like Le Figaro, Les Echos cited a latest proposal by Auchan under which it would have potentially acquired Carrefour for 21.50 euros ($24.90) per share in an offer consisting of about 70% in cash and some 30% in Auchan shares.
Auchan’s reported proposal is higher than a 20 euro per share bid for Carrefour made by Alimentation Couche-Tard in January. The Canadian retailer dropped its offer worth about 16 billion euros in the face of opposition from the French government.
Carrefour shares closed at 16.03 euros on Friday.
Auchan declined to comment, while Carrefour could not be immediately reached.
($1 = 0.8634 euros)
(Reporting by Gus Trompiz, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)
