BEIJING, April 24 -- Carrefour SA, Europe's biggest retailer, agreed Monday to buy Brazil's Atacadao for 2.2 billion reais (1.09 billion U.S. dollars) to add 34 discount hypermarkets in the country.

    The acquisition makes Carrefour Brazil's largest retailer in terms of sales, the Paris-based company said in a statement Monday. Atacadao, which represents 4 percent of Brazil's grocery market, reported net sales of 1.5 billion euros last year, Carrefour said.

    "This acquisition will enable Carrefour to develop in what is our key growth market," Chief Executive officer Jose Luis Duran said in a conference call Monday. Carrefour has expanded in faster-growing markets such as Latin America and China to compensate for subdued sales in France, where increased competition has kept prices down.

    The company's operations in Brazil, comprising 109 hypermarkets, 34 Bairro supermarkets and 258 Dia hard-discount stores, generated revenue of about 3.8 billion euros last year, or 3 percent of the group's total revenue.

    "It's a good acquisition," said Cedric Lecasble, an analyst at Paris-based Kepler Equities, who has a "hold" recommendation on Carrefour shares. Carrefour shares rose 24 cents, or 0.4 percent, by 10:22 a.m. Monday in Paris, Bloomberg News reported.

    (Source: Shanghai Daily)