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Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Casino raises stakes in Brazil retail battle, (CASP), (NYSE: CBD), (CARR), (NYSE: WMT), (CEN)

French retailer Casino (CASP.PA) warned its Brazilian partner Diniz against negotiating a merger with its rival Carrefour behind its back, saying an approach flouts their existing agreement. Casino filed for international arbitration against the Diniz group, its partner in Brazilian retail giant Grupo Pao de Acucar (CBD.N) (PCAR4.SA), as speculation mounts that chairman Abilio Diniz had approached Carrefour (CARR.PA) to discuss a possible merger. Diniz initiated the talks after he became concerned that U.S.-based Wal-Mart Stores (WMT.N) and Chilean retailer Cencosud (CEN.SN) could be interested in acquiring Carrefour's Brazilian assets, one source had told Reuters. Wal-Mart trails Pao de Acucar and Carrefour in Brazil's $230 billion retail industry. Casino, which told Reuters last week that it had not given the go-ahead for the Diniz family to start talks with its French rival, wants Diniz to comply with their shareholder pact.

Companhia Brasileira De Distribuicao (CBD) is a Brazil-based food retailer. Shares of CBD remained unchanged at $41.77. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $30.08 and as high as $46.27. On average, 597484 shares of CBD exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 0.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (Walmart) operates retail stores. Shares of WMT remained unchanged at $54.7. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $47.77 and as high as $57.90. On average, 10342800 shares of WMT exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 0.



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