Diniz's Peninsula Participacoes May Raise Carrefour Stake

By Rogerio Jelmayer

SÃO PAULO--Brazilian investment firm Peninsula Participacoes, controlled by tycoon Abilio Diniz, confirmed Monday it is considering raising its stake in French supermarket chain Carrefour SA.

The final decision will depend on market conditions, said a Peninsula spokesman, who declined to provide an estimate on the size of the possible increase. But a person close to the Brazilian company, who asked not to be identified, said Peninsula wants to raise its stake from 5.1% to around 8%. Brazilian newspaper Valor Economico also reported Monday that Peninsula could up its stake to as much as 8%.

Peninsula is controlled by Mr. Diniz, who is also the chairman of Brazilian food giant BRF SA. The investment firm has a total of $3.4 billion in assets under management, including the stake in Carrefour, BRF and real-estate assets.

Mr. Diniz used to head Brazil's largest retailer, Grupo Pao de Açucar, or GPA, which was founded by his family and is now controlled by French retail group Casino.

Mr. Diniz resigned as GPA's chairman in 2013 following conflicts with Casino after he attempted to revise a 2005 deal to hand over control of the Brazilian company. Casino took control of GPA, as agreed, after Mr. Diniz's failed attempt to merge it with the Brazilian unit of Carrefour.

Write to Rogerio Jelmayer at rogerio.jelmayer@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 21, 2016 13:34 ET (17:34 GMT)

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