BUENOS AIRES – Argentine supermarket chain Eki, controlled by U.S. investment firm Nexus Partners, has agreed to buy French group Casino’s local network of 26 Leader Price convenience stores, the Buenos Aires press reported Tuesday.

Nexus Partners submitted the best offer among a group of suitors that included France’s Carrefour and U.S. retailer Wal-Mart, Casino said.

Under the terms of the deal, Casino will retain the rights to continue selling food and beverage products in Argentina under the Leader Price brand name.

“Leader Price will continue to function as a food brand and we’re not ruling out the possibility that its products will begin to be sold at all the Eki stores,” a Casino spokesperson told La Nacion daily.

The spokesperson said the sale of the Leader Price chain is unrelated to the French group’s problems in Venezuela, where President Hugo Chavez’s government announced the nationalization of the Casino-owned Exito hypermarket chain on accusations it raised prices following a recent currency devaluation.

Nexus Partners owns a 90 percent stake in the Eki chain, founded in 1996 by Argentine businessman Gustavo Lopetegui.

Leader Price Argentina, which in less than a decade has grown to 26 stores across Greater Buenos Aires, posted 200 million pesos ($52 million) in revenue last year, according to Casino figures.

The French group also owns the Libertad hypermarket chain in Argentina. EFE