Spanish retailer El Corte Ingles has reportedly made an offer of up to €480m (US$577.7m) to acquire the Spanish stores of Dutch retailer Ahold.


El Corte Ingles is particularly interested in Ahold’s 175 stores on the Canary Islands, Reuters reported, citing local media.


Ahold’s Spanish unit operates 628 stores, under banners including Superdiplo and Supersol.


The Dutch retailer, which this week posted a net loss of €405m for the first quarter of 2004 due to the impact of divestments, has said it hopes to sell its Spanish operations by the end of the year.