Delhaize and Dutch supermarket Albert Heijn have officially merged

Dick Boer, COO of Ahold, the Dutch company that owns supermarket chain Albert Heijn, has been named the CEO of the new Ahold Delhaize group. Current Delhaize CEO Frans Muller will be deputy CEO. The merger of the two supermarket giants was officially announced this morning.

The deal between the retailers was announced during an extraordinary meeting of the works council, at which unions were informed about the details of the merger. Ahold will acquire Delhaize shares at the rate of one for 4.75 Ahold shares, which values the Delhaize share at €90, putting a total value on Delhaize of €9.31 billion. Ahold will hold 61% of the new entity, and Delhaize 39%. Delhaize shares gained 8% on Tuesday on news of the impending announcement.

Belgian group Delhaize faced massive restructuring last year, said to be necessary to remain competitive. Workers at stores across the country went on strike at protest at news that 14 stores would close and 2,500 staff made redundant. In the end, 10 stores closed and 1,800 staff laid off.

The new Ahold Delhaize group will comprise an empire of more than 4,600 stores in Belgium, the Netherlands and the US, employing 380,000 people. The combined Ahold Delhaize will serve 50 million customers a week. Last year the two partners reported combined sales of €54 billion and profits of €1 billion.

Photo by Laurie Dieffembacq/BELGA