<p style="text-indent:0px; line-height:12px;"><span style="font-weight:bold;line-height:130%"> Amsterdam, Netherlands</span><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">By Eric Anderson<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">3.21.13</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Ahold has announced that it has received formal confirmation from Hakon Invest that all conditions regarding the $3.1 billion dollar sale of Ahold’s share in ICA, Sweden’s largest retailer, to Hakon Invest have been met.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><img class="small-cropped-image" src="https://cdn.andnowuknow.com/legacySmallCroppedImages/ahold032113body.jpg" alt="Images 031913" /><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> “We think it’s the right deal for our shareholders at this time,” Ahold Chief Financial Officer Jeff Carr said on a conference call on February 11th, according to Bloomberg. “ICA as a business is doing really well and that’s reflected in the price of this transaction.”<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">The company expects the transaction to be completed on March 27, 2013. The sale will put Ahold 60% stake in ICA in Hakon’s hands, meaning that it will own the entirety of the 2,215 store chain.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Hakon has said that it will finance the purchase with cash and bridge financing.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="https://www.ahold.com/" target="_new">Ahold</a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
