Last week, the Halley family, which controls about 13 per cent of Carrefour, revealed it would end a shareholder pact between their holding companies, giving up two of its three seats on the board and ending double voting rights.
The revelation came as Carrefour posted a 0.7 per cent rise in full-year profits to 1.87 billion (£1.42 billion). Total sales rose 6.8 per cent to 82.15 billion (£62.53 billion) last year, although sales in its home market of France only increased 1.1 per cent.
The Halley family’s decision paves the way for Blue Capital – the investment vehicle of LVMH boss Bernard Arnault and private equity firm Colony Capital, which together own 9.1 per cent – to exert greater influence and potentially increase its stake after June 30.
However, City analysts played down the prospect of Blue Capital bringing about a step change in Carrefour’s property and international expansion strategy.
Bernstein analyst Niamh McSherry said that Carrefour’s management board seems to have acted upon the views of Blue Capital regarding a potential flotation of some of its property portfolio.
A bigger risk for Carrefour is that individual members of the Halley family may sell their stake in the retailer, potentially creating a stock overhang – an oversupply of shares on the market.
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