Swedis supermarket group Axfood has increased its interest in Finnish retailer Suomen Spar Ovi to a majority stake of 52% and to 68.7% of voting rights.


Axfood bought the shares from local and foreign institutions for €27 (US$24.4) per share. It is believed that the group will go on to make a redemption offer worth 14.7m for the outstanding shares in Spar Finland.


The acquisition is a logical step in Axfood’s nordic expansion campaign. Th egroup currently has a 20% market share in Sweden and a 9% market share in Finland.