Dutch retail giant Ahold has said it is no longer in exclusive talks with Chilean retailer Cencosud regarding the sale of Ahold’s Argentinean supermarket company Disco.


The two companies said that they had been in exclusive talks on the sale, but the exclusivity period had ended last week without a deal being reached, reported Dow Jones News.


Ahold spokesman Fritz Schmuhl said he could not comment further as Ahold is now in talks with other parties regarding Disco.


Ahold and Cencosud said in November that they expected to sign a contract on the sale by the end of the year.


Disco operates 237 stores in Argentina and has a 19.2% market share. Cencosud already operates in Argentina through its Jumbo supermarket chain.