French retailer Casino has sold its Venezuelan retail operations to the Latin American country’s socialist government in what has been described as a “friendly” agreement.

The move follows the expropriation of Casino’s retail outlets in the country by Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez last month.

On Saturday (13 February) Chavez announced that Venezuela’s government had reached an agreement to purchase Casino’s 80% stake in local subsidiary Cativen.

Cativen operates six Exito hypermarkets, 35 Cada supermarkets and six distribution centres.

The outlets will be transformed into state-controlled stores selling essential products at cheaper prices, Chavez said during a televised speech.

The remaining 20% of Cativen is held by Cativen Almacenes, Exito Colombia and Venezuela Empresas Polar.

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A spokesperson for Casino downplayed the news, emphasising that its operations in Venezuela had a “minimal” impact on the group’s financial results.

“Of course we still see great potential in the expanding Latin American markets,” the spokesperson added.