Amsterdam, Oct 7 - Dutch retailer Ahold is interested in buying 30 to 50 Super de Boer supermarkets should Sperwer prevail in its bid for Super de Boer, a Dutch newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Super de Boer is the target of rival bids by cooperatively-owned Sperwer and privately-owned rival Jumbo. On Monday, Sperwer said it planned to make a cash offer of 4.50 euros per share for Super de Boer, valuing the company at about 516 million euros, trumping Jumbo's earlier offer of 480 million euros.
The Financieele Dagblad reported, without citing sources, that Ahold, operator of the largest Dutch supermarket chain Albert Heijn, was looking to buy Super de Boer stores from Sperwer should they prevail in their bid.
If Jumbo succeeds in getting Super de Boer, it plans to sell about 80 Super de Boer stores to another rival supermarket operator Schuitema, it has said.
Analysts have been speculating about a wave of consolidation in the Dutch supermarket sector for a couple of years, with smaller firms struggling to compete with the market dominance of Ahold.
Super de Boer is 57 percent owned by Casino of France.