The giant Rami Levi discount supermarket chain is negotiating to buy the financially troubled Mega stores, but it is doubtful that the talks will be fruitful, Globes reported.
Rami Levi has became known for low prices, with special sales such as offering chickens at one shekel a kilogram, and for building stores in Judea and Samaria where Arabs and Jews shop and work.
Mega, owned by the Alon group, confirmed that there have been “initial talks” with Rami Levi about a buy-out.
Mega has 171 stores, and Rami Levi has only 30 branches.
Besides the difficulty of a smaller company swallowing up a huge chain, a purchase by Rami Levi, of Mega, which is unionized, could result in workers in existing Rami Levi stores joining a union.
A merger or buy-out also would be closely examined by the anti-trust authority.