Colruyt to Sell Codifrance to Carrefour

Cleary Gottlieb is representing Colruyt Group NV (Colruyt) in the proposed sale of its French wholesale business Codifrance to Carrefour.

Colruyt and Carrefour signed a put option agreement on October 17, 2026, under which Carrefour France has undertaken to acquire Codifrance, the French wholesale business of Colruyt, for a total cash consideration of €152 million.

Colruyt, headquartered in Halle, Belgium, and listed on Euronext Brussels, is a Belgian family-owned business with more than 31,000 employees. It operates in the food and non-food distribution sector in Belgium, France, and Luxembourg. The group operates more than 700 own stores and over 1,000 affiliated stores. Colruyt is also active in a wide range of non-retail activities.

Codifrance is Colruyt Group’s French wholesale business and a leading distributor to local retailers in France.

Carrefour is one of the world’s leading food retailers, operating a multi-format and omni-channel network of more than 15,000 stores in over 40 countries with more than 300,000 employees. Carrefour is listed on Euronext Paris.

The proposed transaction will be submitted to the employee representative bodies for information and consultation, and remains subject to customary antitrust approvals. Completion of the proposed transaction is expected to occur during the first semester of 2027.

The Cleary team includes partners Marijke Spooren and Alexis Raguet, and associates Edouard de Walque, Clément Piela, and Marina Radovic. Partner Anne-Sophie Coustel and associate Agathe Hanrot are advising on French tax matters. Partner François-Charles Laprévote and associate Taieb Otmani are advising on antitrust matters. Counsel Jerome Hartemann is advising on labor matters.