TCL Beatrice sells French food distribution business for $459 million

TLC Beatrice International, which was founded by the late Reginald F. Lewis and currently run by his widow, Loida Nicolas Lewis, recently announced that the company has signed a definitive agreement for the sale of TLC Beatrice's French food distribution business to Groupe Casino for $459 million.

The sale to Groupe Casino also includes reimbursement of an intercompany loan for approximately $573 million in one of the largest transactions in the French food sector to date. In 1996, this business posted sales of $1.9 billion with operating income of $59 million.

TLC Beatrice's French food distribution business includes the Leader Price group of companies, which operates a network of 250 company-owned or franchised Leader Price soft discount supermarkets throughout France and Franprix, the leading supermarket operator in the Paris area with a network of approximately 400 stores, a number of which are company-owned.

"This sale marks an important step in our plan to unlock and realize the value of TLC Beatrice for its shareholders and thereby helps complete the work of the company's late founder and Chairman, Reginald F. Lewis," said Mrs. Lewis, who serves as chairman and CEO of TLC Beatrice.

Mrs. Lewis added, "Both Leader Price and Franprix are excellent businesses and we are pleased that they will become part of Groupe Casino, one of the leading food companies in France."

The divestiture of its French food distribution business will leave TLC Beatrice with a core of good manufacturing operations with sales in 1996 of approximately $358 million and operating income of $30 million. The remaining operations include ice cream companies in Spain and the Canary Islands; the leading snack food company in Ireland and beverage companies in Holland, Belgium, Thailand and the south of France.