Bel-Thai Supermarket, the Thai operating company of the Delhaize 'The Lion' group, and the Charoen Pokphand (CP) group agreed to the taking over by Bel-Thai of the 5 supermarkets of Sunny's, a subsidiary of the CP group.
Bel-Thai and CP continue negotiations with 2 franchised stores of Sunny's to join the chain. The trading name Sunny's is also included in the takeover.
The five supermarkets are located in Bangkok. The 2 franchised stores are situated upcountry. The average sales area of the supermarkets is 2000 m2.
The Delhaize 'The Lion' group reached an agreement to buy out all the shares of The Mall group and the Saha group in Bel-Thai Supermarket. The Mall owned 45 % of Bel-Thai Supermarket, the Saha group 10 %. With this transaction, the Delhaize 'The Lion' group will increase its stake in Bel-Thai Supermarket from 45% to 100%.
Delhaize 'The Lion' is engaged in discussions with Food Lion (US) regarding an investment by Food Lion (US) in Bel-Thai Supermarket in the range of approximately USD 10 million. Food Lion (US) is the American operating company of the Delhaize 'The Lion' group, of which Delhaize 'The Lion' owned 44,65 % of the capital at the end of 1998.
The Board of Directors of Food Lion (US) has already confirmed its interest for this acquisition. As part of this operation Bel-Thai Supermarket will be renamed Food Lion .
Bel-Thai was set up in 1997 by the Delhaize 'The Lion' group, The Mall and the Saha group. At the end of 1998 Bel-Thai operated in Bangkok 5 supermarkets under the trade name 'Food Lion', 3 more than the year before. In 1999 Bel-Thai plans to extend its network by 8 stores, including the 5 acquired supermarkets of Sunny.
At the end of 1998, the Belgian food retailer Delhaize 'The Lion' group operated 1,904 stores. The Group achieved in 1998 sales of BEF 520.9 billion (EUR 12.9 billion) and a net profit, part of the Group, of BEF 6 billion (EUR 149 million). The Delhaize 'The Lion' group is operating in 10 countries, of which 3 in Asia: in Thailand, in Indonesia and more recently Singapore.
For further information, please contact: Guy Elewaut, Investor and Financial Press Relations Manager Delhaize 'The Lion' group, phone: 32.(0)2.412.29.48.
Brussels, 29 April 1999.