Atacadao operates 34 discount hypermarkets in Brazil, and 17 of them are located in the Sao Paulo state. The stores encompass 2.3 million sf of retail space. According to Carrefour, Atacadao produced net sales of $2 billion USD in 2006 and held a 4% market share.

On the close of the deal, the Atacadao units will join Carrefour's existing 109 hypermarkets, 34 Carrefour Bairo, and 258 Dia hard discount stores in Brazil. They, according to a Carrefour statement, had total net sales of nearly $5.2 billion USD in 2006.

"With this transaction, Carrefour Brazil becomes the number one food retailer in terms of sales," according to the Carrefour statement. "The acquisition forms part of Carrefour's strategy to reinforce its presence in key growth markets through a locally adapted multi-format approach."