The group led by the businessman Francisco De Narvaez signed with him Paraguayan Vierci Group a binding agreement for the sale of the entire of the shares of the brands that currently make up the firm GDN Uruguay: TaTa Supermarkets, San Roque Pharmacy, the BAS clothing chain, the MultiAhorro Hogar appliance chain and the Frontoy wholesaler.
Although they did not report the amount of the operation, It is estimated between US$ 150 and 200 million, according to the Uruguayan press. They are dollars that De Narváez needs to comply with the offer made for Carrefour in Argentina in partnership with the L. Catterton fund, an operation that is being defined in France. The proposal by the chain was for US$ 1,000 million. In the company GDN has 60% and the fund 40%.
The sale of its Uruguayan assets must undergo approval by the regulatory authorities of that country, including that of the Commission for the Promotion and Defense of Competition.
TaTa It was founded more than 70 years ago by the De Narváez family. It is the GDN supermarket brand, with 94 locations in the 19 Uruguayan departments, an ecommerce network for all its brands, a distribution center and nearly 5,000 employees.
The chain of San Roque pharmaciesfor its part, It has 53 brancheswhile BAS has 29 and MultiAhorro Hogar adds 4.
For its part, Grupo Vierci is a family group with 58 years of experience and presence in 10 countries. It has businesses in retail, fast food, fashion, perfumes, distribution of mass consumption products, media, banking, real estate and agricultural activity. Is the largest private employer in Paraguay, with more than 18,600 direct employees.
In addition to Paraguay, the group has operations in Spain, Portugal, the United States, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Panama and Uruguay, where it has operated franchises for more than 20 years. Burger King y Subway.
According to estimates when GDN presented the offer for Carrefour last November, the operation could be closed between this month and February.
De Narváez already owns Changomasa business to which it integrated the operations of Walmart, the chain it bought when the American multinational withdrew from Argentina in 2020. GDN’s plan is to unite both chains under the Carrefour bannerso the Changomas brand would disappear.
In this way, GDN would become the new leader of the national supermarket, with the largest market share and nearly 30,000 employees. At the moment, Changomas has 93 brancheswhile Carrefour has 709so the group would operate 802 in total.