Carrefour has agreed to sell its remaining 25-percent stake in a Middle East joint venture to local partner Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) for 530 million Euro ($682.45 million), MAF said in a statement on Wednesday.
Majid Al Futtaim Hypermarkets, the venture set up in 1995, operates 50 hypermarkets and 44 supermarkets under the Carrefour name in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia.
"Majid Al Futtaim... will keep and strengthen the strategic partnership with Carrefour in new countries and new formats," the company said in the statement.
MAF will keep its exclusive franchise partnership with Carrefour until 2025, allowing the company to operate under the French retailer's brand name in the region.
Carrefour sold 2.8 billion Euro ($3.60 billion) of assets last year, withdrawing from Greece, Colombia and Indonesia, to raise cash for investments and shore up its balance sheet.
It sold a 12 percent stake in another joint venture Carrefour SA in Turkey to its partner Sabanci Holding for 60 million Euro ($79 million) in April.
Unlisted MAF is keen to expand its operations and is said to be in talks to buy Egypt's largest supermarket chain from family-owned Mansour Group.
MAF's retail division had revenue of Dh17.8 billion ($4.85 billion) in 2012. In a 2011 bond prospectus, MAF said all of its retail revenue was derived from operations of its Carrefour stores.
