Update: Metro Group denies Tesco- Real deal rumors

German Metro Group, owner of Real Hypermarket Romania has denied rumors of a deal with British Tesco which would have involved the Real business in Romania. "However, a spokesperson for Metro told just-food today (13 December) that there was "no truth in the rumours" and that it had no plans to sell its Real chain. Tesco declined to comment on the reports," according to Just-food.com. Real Hypermarket Romania is yet to make an official statement on the issue. Romanian media had previously reported on British retailer Tesco allegedly being close to making an acquisition and thus entering the Romanian market through acquiring Real Hypermarket Romania. Real,- Hypermarket Romania runs 25 stores in the country and is part of the German Metro group. The retailer entered the Romanian market in 2006. This is not the first time news about Tesco entering the local market emerge, but no market entry strategy has been detailed before. In the Central Eastern Europe, Tesco runs stores in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland ans Slovakia. Worldwide, the retailer runs over 5,000 stores on 14 markets. The group posted EUR 39.3 billion in turnover for the first half of the 2010/2011 fiscal year, up 8.3 percent on the same period the previous year. editor@romania-insider.com