According to reports, Reliance Industries is planning to acquire German retailer Metro AG’s Cash & Carry business in India in a deal estimated at around € 500 million (Rs. 4,060 crore).

The deal includes 31 wholesale distribution centers, land banks and other assets owned by Metro Cash & Carry.

This is going to help Reliance Retail, the country’s largest retailer, expand its presence in the B2B segment.

Reports suggest that, Discussion between billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries and Metro was going on for the past few months and last week the German parent firm agreed to the offer from Reliance Retail.

The B2B segment is considered to be a low-margin business and multinationals such as Carrefour have exited from the country in 2014.

Other retailers were also in the race to acquire Metro Cash and Carry, including Siam Makro, which operates Lots Wholesale cash-and-carry trading business under the brand name LOTS Wholesale Solutions.

According to reports, last month, Siam Makro, part of the Charoen Pokphand Group of Thailand, announced its withdrawal from bidding for Metro Cash & Carry India.

Metro AG, which operates in 34 countries, entered the Indian market in 2003.

It operates six stores in Bengaluru, four in Hyderabad, two each in Mumbai and Delhi, and one each in Kolkata, Jaipur, Jalandhar, Zirakpur, Amritsar, Ahmedabad, Surat, Indore, Lucknow, Meerut, Nasik, Ghaziabad, Tumakuru, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Guntur and Hubballi.

In July 2020, e-commerce major Flipkart Group acquired 100 percentage stake in Walmart India Pvt. Ltd, which operates the Best Price cash-and-carry business.