Metro AG has sold its stake in Booker Group for £196 million as the German retailer looks to reinvest capital and trim debt.
Reuters reports that Metro CEO Olaf Koch said the proceeds from the sale of the 9 per cent stake in Britain's biggest cash-and-carry wholesalerwould be used to fund expansion and cut debt.
Metro, which runs Europe's largest consumer electronics chain Media-Saturn, as well as the Real hypermarkets and Kaufhof department stores in Germany, will continue its strategic partnership with Booker.
The German company became the largest shareholder in Booker in May 2012 when it sold its loss-making British cash-and-carry business Makro to Booker in a £140m deal.
