Victory Chain Owner Seeks to Acquire Carrefour Israel Franchise

Eyal Ravid, owner of the Israeli supermarket chain 'Victory,' has submitted a request to the Competition Authority for approval to acquire a 30% stake in Global Retail, the company operating the Carrefour franchise in Israel. The acquisition is planned as part of an initial public offering on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange scheduled for November. In this offering, Electra Consumer Products, owned by brothers Miki and Dani Zalkind, will sell at least 25% of its 49.9% stake in the France-Israel Group, which owns Global Retail. Other significant shareholders include Nahum Bitan with 22%, French businessman Simon Pinto with 15.1%, and the Phoenix insurance company with 13%.

Victory initially aims to secure a controlling interest in Global Retail. The company is already in discussions with institutional investors who are expected to participate in the upcoming merger. In a subsequent phase, Victory, alongside these investors, intends to fully absorb Carrefour. This would lead to the French chain ceasing operations in Israel, with its stores being rebranded under the Victory name. The combined entity would significantly expand its retail footprint, growing from its current 67 stores to approximately 210.

This move would position the merged company as a major player in Israel's food retail market. Currently, Shufersal remains the largest chain with projected 2025 revenues of 14.5 billion shekels. Rami Levy follows with 6.7 billion shekels, Osher Ad with an estimated 5.5 billion shekels, and Yohananof with 5.2 billion shekels. For context, Carrefour's revenue was 3.2 billion shekels, and Victory's was 2.6 billion shekels.