Grupo Éxito shareholders approve acquisitions in Brazil, Argentina

Grupo Éxito’s Extraordinary Shareholders Meeting, held on Tuesday, has approved the acquisition of 50 percent of the voting rights in Grupo Pão de Açúcar, which is Brazil's leading retailer, and 100 percent of Libertad in Argentina.

Grupo Éxito is investing $1,826 million in the acquisitions and is now the leading retailer in South America, with a presence in Colombia, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay.

“Grupo Éxito has grown via acquisitions (Cadenalco, Carulla-Vivero, Cafam and Super Inter), in all of them achieving synergies and generating market value for customers and shareholders,” Carlos Mario Giraldo Moreno, CEO of Grupo Éxito, said. “This is a historical milestone for the company; we will be the leading retailer in South America."

With this transaction, Grupo Éxito advances the consolidation of its omni-channel strategy and might increase the potential of its e-commerce business.

"Four years ago we began the regional expansion with the acquisition of Disco and Devoto in Uruguay, a business that has been of great value for the group’s shareholders, with an average double-digit growth, an EBITDA exceeding eight percent, and an obvious synergies generation,” Moreno said. “In addition, the company has identified synergies by $160 million per annum -- once they are fully implemented -- which were not part of the assessment and with which we expect increasing on earnings per share and improvements on invested capital return."