Krasnodar, Russia, Sept 10 - French supermarket group Carrefour launched its second Russian store on Thursday with a pledge to pursue more acquisitions in the country, though its country head said no deal was on the table.
"We are looking for different opportunities in Russia. That includes, of course, the possibility of acquisitions of companies," Jacobo Caller told reporters at the opening of the store in the southern Russian city of Krasnodar.
"At the moment, we have no deal on the table. But I insist that mergers and acquisitions are one of the possibilities," he said.
Carrefour, the world's No. 2 retailer after U.S. company Wal-Mart, has long been linked with a takeover bid for Russian grocer Seventh Continent.
Shares in the upscale Moscow grocery chain spiked on Tuesday when a newspaper said French bank Natixis had bought the debt of Seventh Continent's main owner, Alexander Zanadvorov.
Caller declined to comment when asked about Seventh Continent.
He said Russia was one of the company's main priorities, along with the other BRIC countries, Brazil, India and China.
He added that Carrefour would present its strategy for the next three years in Russia in two months' time.