Retail giant Carrefour has little chance of purchasing a major stake in Russian grocery chain Sedmoi Kontinent (Seventh Continent), according to new press reports in the country.
Russian newspaper Vedomosti quoted Vladimir Gruzdev, who controls 10 per cent of Seventh Continent, as saying that the current economic climate meant that it was a bad time for Russia to be selling assets that are performing strongly.
He said that Carrefour has an 'almost zero' chance of buying the chain, the newspaper reported.
Media reports in Russia have in recent weeks speculated that the French group had entered a preliminary agreement to acquire 75 per cent of Seventh Continent, with the cost of any deal rumoured to be around US$1.5bn.
