Ahold's Spanish sale could net EUR600m

Ahold aims to raise at least EUR600 million (£415.1 million) from the sale of its Spanish supermarkets business, according to reports.

The Dutch retailer was engulfed in an US$880 million (£484.8 million) accounting scandal at its US Foodservice arm last year. Ahold president and chief executive officer Anders Moberg hopes to generate EUR2.5 billion (£1.73 billion) from disposals by the end of 2005 as it refocuses.

Ahold has already disposed of businesses in Indonesia, Malaysia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, Holland and the US. Talks are ongoing regarding businesses in Brazil and Argentina, as well as Spain.

An Ahold spokesman would not comment on exactly how much the Spanish disposal would raise. He said: 'This is not a fire sale. We want to extract maximum value for our shareholders, customers and staff. We want to sell to someone who will continue to help our staff and who is perhaps more suited to the Spanish market.'