Carrefour, which acknowledged Couche-Tard’s approach to discuss a combination on Wednesday, had no immediate comment on Friday.
Convenience-store operator Alimentation Couche-Tard’s 20 euros per share offer for Carrefour — continental Europe’s largest retailer — also raises other political considerations, as Carrefour is France’s biggest private-sector employer. Carrefour CFDT union representative Sylvain Mace told BFM business that staff were “surprised and a bit worried” by the offer, which raised concerns over jobs and the future management of the French retailer.Article content continuedUBS analysts said Carrefour shares were now pricing a low 20 per cent probability of a deal happening.
“Clearly the forceful commentary from the French government suggests they can block the deal. Further, given this was a ‘friendly’ approach we doubt Couche-Tard or indeed Carrefour would challenge this directly,” they wrote. Separately, Credit rating agency Moody’s said Couche-Tard’s offer for Carrefour would be at about 6.8 times enterprise value to adjusted EBITDA, which was “consistent” with Couche-Tard’s other large acquisitions in the past.