Tengelman to sell Plus stores to Jerónimo Martins

Portugual's Jerónimo Martins Group has reached an agreement with Germany's Tengelmann Group to buy its chain of Plus discount companies which operate in Portugal and in Poland. The acquisition will allow Jerónimo Martins to strengthen its leading supermarket position in both Portugal and in the Polish discount market.

Plus operates 75 stores in Portugal and 210 stores in Poland with reported net sales of €149 million and €344 million respectively in the fiscal year ended April 2007. In addition, Plus has two new stores in Portugal and six in Poland under construction.

In Portugal the Plus stores will be converted to the groups's Pingo Doce stores while in Poland they will be incorporated into the Biedronka chain of discount stores.

To date Jerónimo Martins operates 210 Pingo Doce stores and 1,031 stores Biedronka stores.

The 145 business properties owned by Tengelmann will remain the property of the family business in the long term. “We have come to a cooperation agreement for the properties in both countries," said Karl-Erivan W. Haub, managing partner of the Tengelmann Group. "I firmly believe that our markets and employees will be in best of hands.”

The sale of the Plus operations, which will be sold for about €320 million, is still subject to antitrust approval.