Capital investment for Caprabo

Caprabo has become the biggest supermarket operator in the Spanish capital Madrid after the acquisition earlier this week of the Supermercados Alcosto chain. The company's programme of acquisitions has quickened pace since the negotiation of a syndicated loan from new shareholder, La Caixa bank.

Caprabo said that the deal would not be finalised until the Spanish competition authorities had ruled on Alcosto's proposals for several new stores in the capital, but that it expected to close the operation in the final quarter of 2003.

Alcosto operates 66 stores in Madrid and in Castilla-La Mancha and last year posted sales of around €500 million. Caprabo has 63 stores in Madrid and 15 in Castilla La-Mancha.

Caprabo​ said that Alcosto was a good fit with its business and that it would continue to seek other complementary acquisitions following its link up with La Caixa.

La Caixa recently took a 20 per cent stake in the retail group after a capital increase and Caprabo's new shareholder is one of a number of banks contributing to a €520 million syndicated loan, repayable over six years, which should further help the group increase its presence in the still highly fragmented Spanish retail market.

Caprabo has been one of the most active players in Spanish retail consolidation over the last few years, with the acquisition of the Alonso chain in Madrid, Enaco in Valencia and Nekea in Navarra in the last year alone. These acquisitions also contributed to a €26.9 per cent increase in the company's sales last year to €2 billion.

The group now has a total of 498 supermarkets and 29 service stations across Spain and as well as being the leading food retailer in Catalonia and Navarra (and now Madrid) it has a strong presence in the Balearic Islands and Valencia. It has a more limited presence in La Rioja, Andalusia, Castilla y Leon, Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura, Aragon and Murcia.

Ahold completes Paraguay sale​

Meanwhile, troubled retailer Ahold​, whose Spanish operations could also be of interest to Caprabo if the Dutch group is forced to sell them to offset its fraud-related losses, has completed the sale of its business in Paraguay, also as part of its loss-reducing programme.

The company has sold its 100 per cent interest in Supermercados Stock to local company A.J. Vierci, which operates media, industry and trade businesses in Paraguay.

Ahold did not say how much it had sold the chain for, saying simply that the disposal was part of its strategic plan to restructure its portfolio and to divest consistently underperforming assets.

Supermercados Stock, which was part of Ahold's Santa Isabel business based in Chile, operated 10 supermarkets at the end of 2002 and had been part of Ahold's portfolio since 1998.