Pursuing Strategic Partnerships - Update on Monday Canada's Couche-Tard to explore partnership opportunities with Carrefour, after takeover plan fails 2021-01-16 03:01:56 PM ET (Reuters)
Jan 16 (Reuters) - Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard and European retailer Carrefour SA have decided to work on partnership opportunities after takeover talks failed, the two companies said in a joint statement on Saturday.
Couche-Tard dropped its 16.2 billion euro ($19.57 billion) bid for Carrefour after the French government opposed the deal, citing food security concerns.
The decision to end merger talks came after a meeting on Friday between French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire and Couche-Tard's founder and chairman, Alain Bouchard.
"Food security is strategic for our country so that's why we don't sell a big French retailer. My answer is extremely clear: We are not in favour of the deal. The no is polite but it's a clear and final no," Le Maire said.
The Canadian firm had submitted a non-binding offer letter earlier this month to buy European retail giant at a price of 20 euros per share. The com panies said they have decided to extend their discussions to examine opportunities for sharing practices on fuel purchases, partnering on private labels and distribution in overlapping networks.
"The discussed areas for cooperation align with our five-year strategic plan, as well as our commitment to strengthening our core convenience and fuel business and pursuing opportunities in multiple,related growth platforms," Couche-Tard Chief Executive Brian Hannasch said.
Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (the "Company") (TSX: ATD.A) (TSX: ATD.B) will host a conference call with analysts to discuss the Company's strategic goals and the opportunities it sees for operational partnerships with Carrefour SA going forward.
-- When: Monday, January 18, 2021
-- Time: 8:00 a.m. EST
-- Live call dial-in: (888) 390-0549 (NA toll-free) or (416)
764-8682 (International)
-- Conference ID: 72819822#
Webcast: A live webcast of the call can be accessed from the Investor Relations section of Couche-Tard's website at https://corpo.couche-tard.com/en/investor-relations/corporate-presentations/. The webcast will be archived and available for replay following the call.