For sale: Ramstore supermarkets

The Ramstore chain of supermarkets, which currently lease space from various landlords, will be sold in the first half of 2008. Meanwhile, French retail giant Auchan has struck a deal to run 14 Ramstore hypermarkets in Russia for €181 million. Auchan will buy another hypermarket from Enka outright.

Under its deal with Enka, the Turkish owner of the Ramstore chain, Auchan will lease 13 and own one of the hypermarkets. Nine of the outlets are based in Moscow and all of the stores will be operated under the Auchan brand from early next year. Auchan already runs 17 hypermarkets in Russia.

When Enka offered to sell the retail business of its Ramstore chain, it was reported that X5 Retail, Wal-Mart, Tesco, Auchan, Carrefour, US fund TPG, the Mosmart chain and Lotte Group had taken part in negotiations. The supermarkets will probably draw a different circle of potential buyers than the hypermarkets.