Dutch supermarket group Ahold is to sell its Polish retail operations to Carrefour in a deal worth E375 million. The transaction is expected to be completed in the first half of 2007.

The deal will include 179 supermarkets that trade under the Albert banner, 15 compact hypermarkets trading under the Hypernova banner and four gas stations.

Ahold announced its intention to sell its Polish business last month as part of a strategic review. At the same time, it also revealed plans to sell its US foodservice business, the Tops chain in the US and retail operations in Slovakia. The moves are aimed at improving profitability across the group.

Ahold has been active in Poland since 1995 and currently employs approximately 10,000 people in the country.