Dutch retailer Royal Ahold said on Monday that it would bid about $50 million for the shares of Chilean supermarket firm Santa Isabel that it did not already own.
Ahold, the world's third biggest food retail and foodservice group in sales terms, already owns 69.7 per cent of Santa Isabel through its Latin American unit Disco.
Spokesman Nick Gale said Ahold is required under Chilean law to make a bid for the remaining shares in Santa Isabel, which has 117 supermarkets in Chile, Peru and Paraguay with 2001 sales of around €771 million.
Ahold took full control of Disco Ahold International Holdings earlier this month by taking over the stake belonging to its Argentine partner Velox Retail Holdings.At that time its stake in Santa Isabel went over the two-thirds threshold that forces it to make a bid for the full company, Gale said. The total bid would be worth around $50 million if all shares are tendered, he added.
Ahold will bid 190 Chilean pesos per share in the Chilean offer, a premium of 22.6 per cent over Friday's closing price on the Santiago stock exchange, a statement said.
The bid for USADS issues will be based on the exchange rate as published in the official gazette in Chile at the time of payment and will be approximately $4.04, based on Friday's exchange rate, Ahold said.
The tender offers will begin on 3 September and are expected to expire on 3 October.
Ahold owns the Netherlands' biggest supermarket chain but generates about 60 per cent of its turnover in the United States. Disco operates over 350 supermarkets in four Latin American countries.
Ahold shares were down 0.9 per cent at €18.55 in early trade on Euronext Amsterdam.