PARIS (Reuters) - France's antitrust authority said on Monday it will investigate the potential impact of several purchasing alliances recently sealed by French and European supermarket retailers.
The probes cover purchasing alliances between France's Auchan [AUCH.UL], Casino (PA:CASP), Germany's Metro and France's Schiever on the one hand, and one between Carrefour (PA:CARR) and Systeme U.
The probe on that last alliance was also widened to include the tie-up between Carrefour and Tesco (L:TSCO).
The probes will assess "the competitive impact of these purchasing alliances on the markets concerned for suppliers and for consumers," the statement said.