Metro Group signs agreement to sell Real | Progresiv
Following an agreement to sell Real earlier this month, the wholesaler has now signed a deal to sell Real to a consortium consisting of the SCP Group and investment firm X-Bricks. 
The deal has now been signed and the last stage is for the supervisory and antitrust authorities to approve the sale. The inflow of funds will be 300 million euros, with Real being valued at around 1 billion euros. If the competition advisories approve the deal, 100% of the business will be taken over by SCP, including a number of properties. SCP has partnered with specialist food property investor X-Bricks to help oversee the repositioning of the estate.
For Metro Group, the restructuring costs for 2021/2022 are expected to be around 200 million euros, and it also expects the sale of the Chinese business to complete imminently.
Metro Group made the decision to sell Real in 2018 in order to focus on its wholesale business. With 276 stores, the hypermarket format has struggled to perform well in the last few years. Once the sale is complete, Metro's service companies will continue to provide services during a transition period, which would be gradually reduced over time.
SCP has stated that they plan to sell the digital operations straight away. The business which operates under Real.de, includes the marketplace business. It is believed that some of the hypermarkets will be sold to other retailers such as Kaufland, Edeka and Rewe and that some stores may close. SCP are contractually required to continue to operate 50 stores under the Real banner for two years. (retailanalysis.igd.com)
