Carrefour has refuted claims from French grocery rival Casino that it approached the business over a possible tie-up.
Casino, which has suffered a share price slump this year amid concerns over its debt, said this morning that its board had met on Sunday and âunanimously decided to reject Carrefourâs approachâ.
Franceâs fourth-largest grocer claimed it had been contacted by Carrefour but spurned its overtures.
Its board âreiterated its entire confidenceâ in Casinoâs strategy and noted regulatory hurdles to any deal, given that Carrefour is Franceâs second-biggest grocery player.
However, Carrefour said it was surprised that Casino had met to discuss âa merger proposal that does not existâ.
In a terse statement, the retailer alleged that âdifficultiesâ faced by Casino could have prompted the âmisleading and groundless communicationsâ.
Carrefour, which struck a buying alliance with Tesco earlier this year, is the worldâs second-largest retailer by revenues â behind only Walmart â and holds 20.4% of the French grocery market.
Casino, in contrast, has a market share of 11.6% in its homeland.
It has been selling off non-core businesses in a bid to slash its debt pile, but continues to operate etailer Cdiscount and upmarket retailer Monoprix, which has struck a deal with Ocado to launch an online presence.
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