Ahold has been granted permission from the Czech Office of Fair Trading to purchase the local Spar stores.
However, it has to sell several stores first. Ahold will purchase the 50 Spar stores for Ђ191 million (5.25 billion Czech krona). The group has received preliminary permission to undertake the purchase, but final approval may only become available during the second half of 2014.Ahold is currently operating in the Czech Republic under its Albert brand and it will have 330 stores once the 50 Spar stores are included in its portfolio.This will make the group the largest supermarket chain in the country.The group has been actively trading in the Czech Republic since 1991 and its performance has improved gradually during the last years. The 50 Spar stores reported a turnover of 440 million for last year, but were still struggling, however Ahold is planning to make it a profitable venture within a period of two years.
2 JULY 2014, Czech Republic
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