Reliance to buy METRO Cash & Carry India for Rs 4,060 crore
Industry sources claim that Reliance Industries will acquire the Cash & Carry in India business of German retailer METRO AG from Germany in a deal worth around 500 million euros (Rs 4 060 crore).
According to them, the deal includes 31 wholesale distribution centers, land banks, and other assets that METRO Cash & Carry has.
This will allow Reliance Retail to expand its B2B presence, which is the largest retailer in the country.
The discussions between billionaire Mukesh Ambani and METRO had been ongoing for the past few month. Last week, the German parent company accepted the offer from Reliance Retail.
Both METRO and Reliance Industries refused to comment when they were contacted.
Reliance spokespeople stated that the company continues to evaluate different opportunities.
METRO AG spokesperson stated that they do not comment on speculations or market rumours.
METRO Cash & Carry customers include retailers, kirana shops, hotels, restaurants, caterers (HoReCa), corporates and SMEs as well as companies and institutions.
The B2B market is low-margin and multinationals like Carrefour have left the country in 2014.
Flipkart Group, an e-commerce giant, acquired 100 percent of Walmart India Pvt Ltd in July 2020. This company operates the Best Price cash and carry business.
Other retailers also raced to acquire METRO Cash & Carry. Siam Makro operates Lots Wholesale cash and carry trading business under the name LOTS Wholesale Solutions.
Siam Makro, a part of the Charoen Pokphand Group of Thailand announced last month that it would no longer bid for METRO Cash & Carry India.
METRO AG, an international company that operates in 34 countries entered India’s market in 2003.
It has six stores in Bengaluru and four in Hyderabad. There are also two in Mumbai and Delhi. One each in Kolkata and Jaipur.
Reliance Industries’ Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd, (RRVL), is the holding company for all retail companies in the group.
RRVL reported a consolidated turnover in excess of Rs 2 lakh crore for 2022.
Prasannkumar is a passionate digital marketer and devoted team leader. He loves trying out and sharing the latest knowledge about industry trends, market growth, and keyword analysis with new google and other search engines algorithm. He effectively knows how content feeds into different subsets of the marketing plan and grasps how to develop and share the content assets on the right channels.