French retailer Casino has sold its Venezuelan retail operations to the Latin American country’s socialist government in what has been described as a “friendly” agreement.
The move follows the expropriation of Casino’s retail outlets in the country by Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez last month.
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On Saturday (13 February) Chavez announced that Venezuela’s government had reached an agreement to purchase Casino’s 80% stake in local subsidiary Cativen.
Cativen operates six Exito hypermarkets, 35 Cada supermarkets and six distribution centres.
The outlets will be transformed into state-controlled stores selling essential products at cheaper prices, Chavez said during a televised speech.
The remaining 20% of Cativen is held by Cativen Almacenes, Exito Colombia and Venezuela Empresas Polar.
A spokesperson for Casino downplayed the news, emphasising that its operations in Venezuela had a “minimal” impact on the group’s financial results.
“Of course we still see great potential in the expanding Latin American markets,” the spokesperson added.
