According to the report, Conad may already be in talks with banks for advice on how to tackle a deal and the Italian group could either try to buy Carrefour's Italian operations on its own or with other supermarket groups in the country. However, the paper says that it is still unclear whether Carrefour has decided to sell its Italian business or not.Carrefour's Chief Executive Georges Plassat said earlier this month that the company had no plans to shed further assets for the time being, after pulling out of five markets in 2012.
The world's second largest retailer after US based Wal-Mart Stores Inc.(WMT) sold and closed a number of its global operations last year in a bid to refocus its business on core markets in Europe and South America.
At the company's annual results presentation, Mr. Plassat highlighted the difficult context in Italy and neighboring Spain, where sales were down 5.7% and 4.1% respectively last year, but underlined the importance of continuing to invest in Europe even as euro-zone austerity hits European shoppers' budgets.
Italy, which made up close to 7% of Carrefour's revenue in 2012, is Carrefour's fourth largest market after France, Spain and Brazil. Under previous management, the company had already sold part of its operations in the south of the country.
