Reliance Retail acquires METRO Cash & Carry India

Reliance Retail, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, said it would acquire 100% equity stake in METRO Cash & Carry India (METRO India) for a total cash consideration of Rs 2,850 crore, subject to closing adjustments.

Reliance Retail would have access to the entire network of METRO India stores located in prime locations across key cities, a large base of registered kiranas, and other institutional customers. The acquisition will strengthen Reliance Retail’s physical store footprint.

Isha Ambani, Director, Reliance Retail Ventures Limited, said, “The acquisition of METRO India aligns with our new commerce strategy of building a unique model of shared prosperity through active collaboration with small merchants and enterprises.

"We believe that METRO India’s healthy assets, combined with our deep understanding of the Indian merchant/kirana ecosystem, will offer a differentiated value proposition to small businesses in India.”

Dr Steffen Greubel, CEO of METRO AG, said, “With METRO India, we are selling a growing and profitable wholesale business in a very dynamic market at the right time. [In] Reliance we have found a suitable partner willing and able to successfully lead METRO India into the future."

He added that this would benefit customers and employees, and enable METRO to focus on accelerating growth.

METRO India started operations in India in 2003 as the first company to introduce the cash-and-carry business format. It currently operates 31 large-format stores across 21 cities with about 3,500 employees.

The multichannel B2B wholesaler has access to over three million B2B customers in India, of which one million are frequently buying customers, through its store network and eB2B app.

The transaction is subject to certain regulatory and other customary closing conditions, and is expected to complete by March 2023.