In the bidding competition for the heavily indebted French retail group Casino, the German discounter Lidl has shown interest in taking over 600 supermarkets in the neighboring country.
However, there are no talks with the German supermarket chain in this regard, said a spokeswoman for the financial investor Attestor on Thursday of the dpa in Paris. Attestor is primed to take over Casino with billionaires Daniel Kretinsky and Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière. The 3F investor group withdrew on Monday. The Lidl request was related to a possible entry by 3F, said the spokeswoman.
Lidl was therefore interested in taking over a total of around 600 stores from Casino and the Monoprix brand, which belongs to the retail chain. Lidl did not comment on possible expansion plans in France when asked. Lidl already operates over 1,500 supermarkets in France. (dpa)