Germany's Metro sells Greek cash-and-carry ops

German retail and distribution giant Metro said Tuesday it has agreed to sell its Greek cash-and-carry operations, Makro, to a local rival in a deal valued at 65 million euros ($81 million).
"MAKRO Cash & Carry is to be divested to the local retail group Sklavenitis. The transaction covers the complete operational business of MAKRO Greece including nine wholesale stores and the relevant realestate portfolio for an enterprise value of 65 million euros," the German group said in a statement.
"With Sklavenitis, we found the perfect partner for our Greek cash-and-carry business," said chief executive Olaf Koch.
"Sklavenitis is already very well positioned in Greece and can leverage economies of scale and synergies with MAKRO which we would not have been able to achieve on our own," he explained.
At the same time, the sale was in line with Metro's strategy of focusing on those countries with what the company considers a "long-term growth perspective."
"In Greece, we would unfortunately not have been able to do so on our own in the years to come. Under the lead of Sklavenitis, new perspectives will open up for MAKRO and we are therefore convinced that we are placing our Greek business and its employees into very good hands," Koch said.
Earlier this year, Metro sold its Real supermarkets in Turkey for an undisclosed sum.