The last stage targeted the legal aspects of the process.
Auchan Romania CEO Frederic Bellon said the merger of the two companies represents only the last token of complete convergence a year after all stores were reopened under the Auchan brand. He added that Auchan continued its investments in Romania during this period, reaching more than half a billion euros to date.
Following the acquisition of the 20 Real stores and counting its last two store openings in 2014 and 2015, the new Auchan company has reached a total 33 hypermarkets in Romania, with a net sale area of 276,000 square meters. Auchan has some 11,000 employees in Romania and is the fourth largest private employer locally.
Auchan has invested EUR520 million in Romania to date.
The retailer paid EUR257 million to acquire 20 of German Metro’s Real hypermarkets in Romania, including the spaces in which a part of corresponding stores and shopping galleries operate. Auchan finished remodeling all former Real hypermarkets in the first half of 2014, in a EUR40 million investment.