Supermarket chain Edeka intends to double its stake in the Dutch online supermarket Picnic. The German market leader currently owns 10 percent of Picnic International and 35 percent of Picnic Germany.
Ambitious plans
According to the German trade journal Lebensmittel Zeitung, Edeka top executive Markus Mosa has been given the green light by his board of directors to significantly increase the retail group’s interest in the online shopping service. Currently, the German supermarket chain holds a 10% stake in Picnic, which would be worth some 1 billion euros. Edeka would now like to invest a further 100 million. Specifically, it would be an exchange of shares: Edeka wants to convert its shares in the German division Picnic GmbH into a stake in Picnic International.
According to observers, Edeka wants to get a better grip on Picnic’s international strategy with this increased participation. Both companies have recently set up the joint purchasing organisation Everest, which will, among other things, develop private label products for the ‘pure player’. Picnic has also announced ambitious expansion plans to countries such as France, Great Britain, Spain and Poland.
Edeka did not want to comment on the news, and Picnic is also keeping a low profile: Edeka only has a minority stake and supports the online player as well as possible, is the only comment.
