Ahold Delhaize Merger Approved

Ahold and Delhaize agreed to a merger earlier today. The combined company, Ahold Delhaize, is valued at approximately $29 billion, according to media reports. CEO of Royal Ahold, Dick Boer, will be appointed to CEO of Ahold Delhaize, and Frans Muller, current CEO of Delhaize Group, will be the deputy CEO and chief integration officer of the combined company.

Ahold Delhaize is expected to offer consumers innovation, increased value and more choices in the combined company’s supermarket formats and online platforms, according to company officials.

The combined company will have a presence of more than 6,500 stores with 375,000 associates. Ahold Delhaize is anticipated to serve more than 50 million customers per week in the United States and in Europe.

The transaction is expected to be completed by mid-2016, following regulatory clearances, consultations procedures and shareholder approval.