Effective July 2008, REWE Group will take over 245 of Metro’s Extra supermarkets. These stores have sales revenue of €1.6 billion. With this sale, Metro Group will reduce its balance-sheet net debt by around €350 million. All employees at the stores and the regional sales offices concerned are to be taken on by REWE Group.

“The sale of Extra enables us to concentrate our food retailing operations solely on Real and thereby focus more effectively our resources on the further successful re-positioning in Germany”, said Eckhard Cordes, CEO of Metro. After having reviewed various strategic options, Metro Group has decided to focus its hypermarkets.

Metro Group is one of the largest international retailing companies. In 2007,  the group reached sales of about € 66 billion. The company has a headcount of some 290,000 employees and operates over 2,400 outlets in 31 countries.

The transaction is subject to the approval of the competent boards and the antitrust authorities.

The operating business is performed by the sales brands which operate independently in the market: Metro/Makro Cash & Carry – world market leader in cash & carry wholesale, Real hypermarkets, Media Markt and Saturn – market leader in consumer electronics centers in Europe, and Galeria Kaufhof department stores.

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Metro to decide on the fate of its Extra supermarket operation