Merged Ahold Delhaize to Keep ‘Royal’ Status
The king of the Netherlands has honored Dutch company Ahold’s request to use the predicate “Koninklijke” (“Royal”) following its proposed merger with Brussels-based fellow retail conglomerate Delhaize Group. The merged company’s official name will be Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize N.V.
Both Ahold and Delhaize began as family businesses in the nineteenth century. Ahold first obtained the Royal predicate in 1987, in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Albert Heijn banner, named for its founder. Delhaize was started by the Delhaize brothers in 1867.
The combined company will consist of more than 6,500 stores and 375,000-plus associates across the United States and Europe, including the U.S banners Giant Food, Stop & Shop, Giant Food Stores, Martin’s Food Markets, Food Lion, and Hannaford
Ahold and Delhaize revealed their intention to merge last June. The transaction is expected to wrap up midyear. Both companies are slated to hold shareholder meetings on March 14.