Walmart Brazil sells stake, further exiting Brazilian grocery market

According to foreign media reports , Walmart Brazil   Inc. sold a majority stake in it to French supermarket chain Carrefour, further exiting the Brazilian grocery market.

Walmart and private equity firm Advent International will jointly take a 5.6 percent stake in Brazil's Carrefour, which will own 80 percent of Grupo BIG Brasil, a Walmart spokesman said on Wednesday.

Grupo BIG Brasil was formed in 2018 when Walmart Brazil sold the majority of its business to Advent International. Walmart retained the remaining 20% ​​of the business. The companies did not disclose the sale price, but the deal values ​​Grupo BIG at approximately $1.26 billion.

Paris-based Carrefour , which already has operations in Brazil, said in a press release on Wednesday that the acquisition would strengthen its presence in a market with high growth potential .

Alexandre Bompard, Chairman and CEO of Carrefour Group , said in a press release that the acquisition of BIG Group is a major transformation strategy for Carrefour Brazil .

Walmart's main store format in Brazil is hypermarkets, similar to its Supercenters in the U.S. But hypermarkets have underperformed in Brazil in recent years , said Dave Marcotte, senior vice president of retail insights at Kantar Consulting.

"I don't think Walmart Brazil has ever had a profitable quarter, so it made sense to sell it to Advent two years ago , " Walmart said , adding : " As in Japan and the UK, Walmart has suffered significant losses. "

In recent years, Walmart's international strategy has shifted from expanding its business abroad to exiting underperforming markets. The company is now focusing on countries with the greatest growth potential, such as Mexico, India and China.

Walmart announced in November last year that it would sell its business in Argentina to a South American retailer. In February this year, Walmart said it had reached an agreement to sell most of its UK subsidiary Asda to an investment group. The deal is currently awaiting approval from UK regulators.

Most recently, Walmart said on March 1 that it had closed the sale of 85% of its Japanese supermarket chain Seiyu GK , with Walmart retaining the remaining 15% stake .

Walmart

Brazil

Carrefour