Carrefour is to sell its Italian business to food and drinks manufacturer NewPrinces Group.

The French retail giant operates around 1,188 stores in Italy, mostly in densely populated regions including Lombardy, Liguria and Emilia-Romagna.

The move comes after Carrefour made a €67 million operating loss across its business last year, with the retailer saying the sale would help boost future growth and profit.

Under the terms of the agreement, Italy-based NewPrinces will acquire 100 per cent of Carrefour Italia, which is based on an enterprise value of approximately €1 billion.

Carrefour will reinvest €237.5 million as a one-off contribution to Carrefour Italia to support a brand relaunch and operational continuity.

NewPrinces said it has committed to investing €200 million in development initiatives, logistics innovation and brand renewal.

NewPrinces plans to relaunch the stores under its GS brand, a former supermarket chain which was taken over by Carrefour, after modernising them and integrating home delivery logistics.

Following the acquisition, NewPrinces said it will become the second-largest Italian food and beverage retail group by revenue.

The company added that it would become the biggest in the country by number of employees, with 13,000 direct employees in Italy and over 18,000 worldwide, in addition to a further 11,000 people engaged in ancillary activities provided by external partners.

NewPrinces said it considers the transaction to be one of the “most significant strategic transactions” in the European distribution landscape thanks to the possibility of integrating logistics and production chains.

The transaction is expected to close by the end of the third quarter of 2025 subject to regulatory approval.

Commenting on the deal Angelo Mastrolia, chairman of NewPrinces Group, said that the company is investing in a “strategic asset” for Italy, with the aim of relaunching a widespread retail network and maximising synergies between industry and distribution.

"With this Transaction, we are taking a decisive step towards vertical integration between production and distribution, strengthening our ability to create value along the entire supply chain,” he added “Our ambition is clear: to build a sustainable, solid and long-term model that can offer concrete benefits to customers, employees, suppliers and shareholders alike.”

The NewPrinces Group has a portfolio of more than 30 brands and exports to more than 60 countries serving more than 30,000 of Europe’s retailers.

In 2024, the Group generated revenues of € 2.8 billion and has 31 manufacturing plants spread across Italy, the UK, Germany, Poland and Mauritius.

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