Delhaize, Ahold merger talks said to be progressing

Merger talks between supermarket groups Delhaize and Royal Ahold NV are reportedly progressing well, with the goal of reaching an agreement by the end of this month.

Company executives and their advisers are busy negotiating the structure of a deal and annual cost savings of €300m to €700m as they aim for a deal before the summer break in July, Bloomberg cited people familiar with the matter as saying.

Ahold and Delhaize announced in May that they were in merger talks.

At 0920 BST, Delhaize shares were up a whopping 6% at €84 while Ahold was 3.5% higher at €18.84.