Reliance Retail Acquires B2B Wholesaler Metro India For Rs 2,850 Crore

Reliance Retail Ventures Limited, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), today (22 December) signed definitive agreements to acquire 100 per cent equity stake in METRO India for a total cash consideration of Rs 2,850 crore, subject to closing adjustments, the company said in a statement.

METRO India, a wholly owned subsidiary of METRO AG, operates cash and carry stores primarily under ‘METRO’ brand in India.

It started operations in India in 2003 as the first company to introduce cash-and-carry business format in the country and currently operates 31 large format stores across 21 cities with about 3,500 employees.

The multi-channel B2B cash and carry wholesaler has reach to over 3 million B2B customers in India, of which 1 million are frequently buying customers, through its store network and eB2B app.

In the financial year 2021-22 (FY ended September 2022), METRO India generated sales of Rs 7,700 crore, its best sales performance since its market entry into India, RIL said.

"Through this acquisition, Reliance Retail gets access to a wide network of METRO India stores located in prime locations across key cities, a large base of registered kiranas and other institutional customers, strong supplier network and some of the global best practices implemented by METRO in India," the company said.

The acquisition will further strengthen Reliance Retail’s physical store footprint and ability to better serve consumers and small merchants by leveraging synergies and efficiencies across supply chain networks, technology platforms and sourcing capabilities.

The symbiotic relationship will create greater value for all stake holders in the retail ecosystem, the company said.

Speaking about this investment, Reliance Retail director Isha Ambani said, “The acquisition of METRO India aligns with our new commerce strategy of building a unique model of shared prosperity through active collaboration with small merchants and enterprises. METRO India is a pioneer and key player in the Indian B2B market and has built a solid multi-channel platform delivering strong customer experience. We believe that METRO India’s healthy assets combined with our deep understanding of Indian merchant / kirana ecosystem will help offer a differentiated value proposition to small businesses in India.”

METRO AG CEO Steffen Greubel said, “With METRO India, we are selling a growing and profitable wholesale business in a very dynamic market at the right time. We are convinced that in Reliance we have found a suitable partner who is willing and able to successfully lead METRO India into the future in this market environment".

The transaction is subject to certain regulatory and other customary closing conditions and is expected to complete by March 2023, the company said.