Reuters – Hedge funds Centaurus Capital and Paulson said on Thursday they would not take any action in pursuit of a breakup of Dutch retailer Ahold until they had seen results from a planned assetsreview.
The funds, which together own about 6.4 percent of Ahold, are pressing the retailer to sell its flagging U.S. activities and concentrate on its more lucrative European business, but so far management has declined to meet them.
“They refuse to talk to us,” a spokeswoman for the funds said, adding the two would wait until the outcome of the assets review.
Ahold, the world’s fourth-biggest food retail and foodservice group by sales, is struggling to get back on track after an accounting scandal in 2003. It has set an autumn deadline to complete a review of underperforming assets.
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Sources close to the process have said the review could include a merger with Belgian retailer Delhaize, with talks between the two still at an early stage.
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