Brussels, Mar. 14 - The European Commission Wednesday delayed until April 11 its antitrust review of French supermarket operator Carrefour SA's plan to buy Royal Ahold NV's Polish supermarkets.
Polish antitrust authorities have asked to be involved in the review, an E.U. official said, explaining the reason for the delay. Under E.U. rules, national authorities can review a deal if they manage to show that it mainly affects their own market.
The transaction is valued at EUR375 million.
Ahold operates 179 supermarkets and 15 hypermarkets in Poland under the Albert and Hypernova banners, as well as four gasoline stations. It has been active in Poland since 1995 and employs around 10,000 people there.
Carrefour operates 71 supermarkets and 32 hypermarkets in Poland. The activities have annual revenue of around EUR1.17 billion.
Ahold Poland had sales of around EUR591 million in 2005.