Tuesday, May 23, 2000
The Board of Royal Ahold and the other controlling shareholders of Bompreço, Mr. João Carlos Paes Mendonça and his family, have announced an agreement in principle under which Ahold will acquire the stake of Mr. João Carlos Paes Mendonça and his family in the Bompreço joint venture in Brazil.
In December 1996, Bompreço and Ahold established a 50/50 joint venture to support and accelerate Bompreço's leadership position in North and Northeastern Brazil. Bompreço's 1999 sales were BRL 2.7 billion (Euro 1.3 billion). The joint venture operates 61 supermarkets, 19 hypermarkets and 22 other food retail stores and employs 21,500 associates.
The transaction is expected to be completed before the end of the third quarter of 2000.
Mr. Paes Mendonça, Chairman, President & CEO of Bompreço since 1978, has served the company for 52 years. He has been invited to continue his involvement as an advisor to the Board. Mr. Paes Mendonça's father founded Bompreço in 1935.