LONDON â€" The Dutch retailer Ahold said on Tuesday that it was considering options for its 60 percent stake in the Swedish supermarket chain ICA, including selling its holding.
Ahold, which operates the Giant retail chain in the United States, said the review would take up to 12 months, and might lead to an initial public offering of ICA, which runs stores across Scandinavia and the Baltic region.
The Dutch company did not say how much it planned to raise through the potential sale.
The announcement comes at a difficult time for European retailers, as the Continent's debt crisis continues to hamper consumer spending. Uncertainty surrounding the European economy has also severely reduced the number of I.P.O.'s this year.
Ahold operates ICA with the Swedish investment group Hakon Invest, which owns the other 40 percent of the Swedish supermarket chain. Ahold and Hakon share equal control over the management of ICA.
Hakon has first right of refu sal to purchase Ahold's stake in ICA, and is considering a number of options, including potentially buying out Ahold, according to a company spokeswoman.
“Irrespective of Ahold's decision to proceed in this matter, we are confident with our ownership in ICA,†Hakon's chief executive, Claes-Goran Sylven, said in a statement. “Our shareholding and ownership influence in ICA is not for sale.â€
ICA operates more than 2,200 stores in Sweden, Norway and the Baltic countries, and it reported revenue of about $14 billion last year, a slight increase from 2010.
Shares in Ahold rose 4.1 percent in morning trading in Amsterdam on Tuesday.
