Zaandam, the Netherlands, 2017-Mar-14 — /EPR Retail News/ — Ahold Delhaize today announced its Belgian subsidiaries have reached agreements to divest five stores and one project in Belgium. The divestments are made to comply with the conditions the Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) attached to its approval of the merger of Ahold and Delhaize Group in 2016.
Lidl Belgium has agreed to buy three Albert Heijn stores and one project. Tanger has agreed to buy one Albert Heijn store and one Proxy Delhaize store.
The agreements are subject to customary closing conditions. Upon fulfillment of these conditions, the stores are expected to be transferred within the next three months. The current labor and working conditions of the associates will be respected in accordance with Belgian labor laws and regulations.
The BCA approved the merger of Ahold and Delhaize Group on March 15, 2016, conditional upon the divestment of eight Albert Heijn stores, five Delhaize affiliated stores and a limited number of projects in Belgium to address competition concerns raised by the regulator.
A full list of the store locations referred to can be found in this press release.
Ahold Delhaize continues to work to complete the divestment process for the other stores that need to be divested in close cooperation with the BCA and potential buyers. Until all divestment requirements are met, Albert Heijn and Delhaize stores in Belgium will continue to operate under mandatory separation.
Cautionary notice
This communication includes forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts may be forward-looking statements. Words such as to divest, subject to, upon fulfillment, expected to be, will be, conditional upon, continues to, until or other similar words or expressions are typically used to identify forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that are difficult to predict and that may cause actual results of Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize N.V. (the “Company”) to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to the risk factors set forth in the Company’s public filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and other disclosures. Forward-looking statements reflect the current views of the Company’s management and assumptions based on information currently available to the Company’s management. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the Company does not assume any obligation to update such statements, except as required by law.
SOURCE: Ahold Delhaize
MEDIA CONTACT
Ellen van Ginkel
Director External Communications
media.relations@aholddelhaize.com
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