MONTREAL -- Quebec depanneur giant Alimentation Couche-Tard confirmed on Tuesday its interest in acquiring French grocery chain Carrefour SA.
In a press release, the company indicated it has initiated “exploratory discussions” with the French company “with a view to a potential friendly rapprochement between the two countries.”
Couche-Tard specified there is no guarantee that the talks will lead to agreement.
Carrefour SA, which was founded over 60 years ago, operates nearly 13,000 supermarkets and convenience stores in France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Poland, Romania, Brazil, Argentina and Taiwan.
The company cut its divided in half last year as the COVID-19 pandemic spread.
Couche-Tard operates stores primarly under the Circle K brand in Canada, the United States and Europe. The company recently took steps to expand into Asia.
