Carrefour, explanations about the reasons why it decided to sell the stores to the Pavăl (Dedeman) family. A mention of the government and a negative premiere in 2025

The French group says it wants to focus on strategic countries, and the Romanian market is a small one. The French also say that the austerity measures of the Bolojan government have affected the purchasing power of the population.

“We decided to focus our attention on strategic countries, on important ones, and Romania was a small market, representing 3.5% of the group's sales. We received an attractive offer, equivalent to 30% of sales, 4.8 x EBITDA and 28.4 x ROI”, Carrefour officials say in a document, quoted by Ziarul Financiar.

The French expect the transaction to be completed in the second part of this year and that “in Romania, sales volumes have fallen amid the austerity measures announced by the government, which have affected purchasing power and consumer confidence, while the Polish market has remained difficult and competitive, and here volume sales are under pressure.”

According to ZF information, 2025 was the first year at a loss for Carrefour in Romania: 21 million euros.

The French company Carrefour announced in mid-February that it entered into exclusive negotiations to sell its operations in Romania to Pavăl Holding, a group controlled by the entrepreneurs Adrian and Dragoș Pavăl from Bacău, owners of the Dedeman chain of stores, according to Startupcafe.ro.

The French company said the transaction is part of the strategic review process initiated by the French group at the beginning of 2025. The price is based on a company valuation of around 823 million euros.