Ahold intends to divest its South American operations

Zaandam, The Netherlands, April 3, 2003 - Ahold today announced its intention to divest its operations in four South American countries - Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Paraguay - in order to concentrate on its mature and most stable markets and to generate funds to pay down debt. As announced on February 5, 2003, the company is in current negotiations to divest its holdings in Chile.

 

No timing has been set for any specific divestment as Ahold is determined to negotiate transactions that maximize value. In addition, Ahold intends to withdraw from the South American market in a responsible way with respect to its customers, associates and suppliers.

 

Commenting on the exit from South America, Theo de Raad, Ahold Corporate Executive Board member responsible for Latin America and Asia, said: "We will continue to fully support our operations during this divestment process by ensuring that all our obligations to suppliers continue to be met. We will also seek to ensure that any new owners will continue to meet the obligations to our current associates as well as the expectations of our customers. Although we intend to proceed expeditiously with our divestment plan, we are determined to maximize the value we receive for these operations and obtain the best possible results for all our stakeholders."

In Brazil, Ahold plans to sell its three wholly-owned operations: Bompreço, G. Barbosa and Hipercard. Ahold first entered Brazil in 1996. Operations in Brazil are profitable and unaudited net sales in 2002 reached an estimated Euro 1.3 billion generated through 119 Bompreço and 32 G. Barbosa supermarkets and hypermarkets at year-end. More than two million people hold the Bompreço Hipercard, the leading customer credit card in the Northeast of Brazil.

In Argentina, Ahold intends to divest its wholly-owned subsidiary Disco S.A., once the 2002 annual accounts have been signed off. Ahold entered the Argentine market in 1998. Unaudited 2002 net sales reached an estimated Euro 762 million, generated through 236 stores at year-end. The turbulent economic circumstances in the country in recent years have led to a marked erosion of buying power across all income groups. Despite the regional slowdown, Disco is a strong competitor with substantial market share.

In Peru, despite the double-digit growth of its business, Ahold views the scale of the operations as small. Given the company's intended withdrawal from its major South American markets, Ahold plans to exit this market as well. Unaudited 2002 net sales reached an estimated Euro 243 million, generated through 32 supermarkets and hypermarkets at year-end.

In Paraguay, Ahold plans to sell its 10 stores that generated unaudited 2002 net sales of Euro 36 million.