According to the newspaper, which did not unveil where it got the information, executives from Wal-Mart’s headquarter in U.S. are hold talks with Carrefour’s executives in French for a possible deal.

The newspaper, however, did not provide a potential price for the acquisition of Carrefour’s Brazilian assets.

Contacted by Dow Jones Newswires earlier Tuesday, Wal-Mart and Carrefour officials were not immediately reached for comment.

If it takes place, the deal would create Brazil’s largest retailer in terms of revenues, surpassing current market leader Companhia Brasileira de Distribuicao (CBD, PCAR4.BR), or CBD.

In 2010, Wal-Mart posted revenue worth 22.3 billion Brazilian reais ($13.8 billion) in Brazil, while Carrefour reported revenues worth BRL29 billion here in the same period. By comparison, CBD posted revenue worth BRL36.1 billion in the period.

In June, Abilio Diniz, CBD’s chairman, proposed a merger with the Brazilian unit of Carrefour. However, the plan was abandoned after Diniz partner, French chain Casino, blocked any possible deal.

Over the past 40 years, the Carrefour group has grown to become one of the world’s leading distribution groups. The world’s second-largest retailer and the largest in Europe, the group currently operates four main grocery store formats: hypermarkets, supermarkets, cash&carry and convenience stores.

The Carrefour group currently has over 9,500 stores, either company-operated or franchises. A pioneering entrant in countries such as Brazil and China, the group currently operates in three major markets: Europe, Latin America and Asia.

With a presence in 32 countries, over 57% of group turnover derives from outside France. The group sees strong potential for further international growth in the future, particularly in such large national markets as China, Brazil, Indonesia, Poland and Turkey.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores.

The company is the world’s 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000 list, and the largest public corporation when ranked by revenue. It is also the biggest private employer in the world with over 2 million employees.

As a result of this acquisition, WDC will expand its global platform into the growing Brazilian shopping centre market.

The Chairman of Westfield Group, Mr Frank Lowy AC, noted that Wednesday’s announcement represents an exciting and significant strategic investment for the Group which expands its global franchise into the large and high potential market.

According to Lowy, the investment is the company’s first new market entry since it entered the United Kingdom in 2000 and follows the restructure of the Group in late 2010. Whilst the climate in the world financial markets is volatile at present, this transaction is in the Group’s long term investment and funding plan, and one it has been investigating for an extensive period of time, said Lowy.

WDC will invest R$740 million (A$440 million) and become a 50% owner and active partner in the company to be renamed Westfield Almeida Junior Shopping Centers S.A.

Westfield Almeida Junior will own and operate five shopping centres in southern Brazil, including two currently under development. The company, led by its founder and CEO, Mr Jaimes Almeida Junior, has been operating shopping centres in Brazil since 1993. It undertakes all aspects of shopping centre design, development, construction, leasing, marketing, management and ownership along similar lines to WDC.

The Co-CEO of Westfield Group, Mr Steven Lowy AM, said the underlying characteristics of the Brazilian market combined with a strong and diversified local retailer base and growing consumer spending makes Brazil a strategic long term growth opportunity for the Group.

Mr Jaimes Almeida Junior has had a long history of success in the Brazilian shopping centre industry building a company with a strong cultural fit with Westfield. This partnership is an exciting launching pad for Westfield into the region and it plans to significantly expand its business in Brazil through development and acquisition, said Almeida.

According to Lowy, the company will bring the Group’s global expertise and capacity in shopping centre management, development, leasing and capital markets, and provide a number of senior executives to the company. The company expects that, over time, its Brazilian partnership will become a major contributor to the earnings and development pipeline of the Group.

Stratema is a manufacturer of fuel dispensers and a provider of maintenance services for the retail petroleum industry and commercial fueling operations in Brazil. Stratema’s customers include large regional oil companies, local oil companies and independent retailers.

Peter Dilnot, Group President Emerging Markets for Gilbarco Veeder-Root, noted that since its entrance into the pump market six years ago, Stratema has developed an excellent reputation for customer focus, innovation and quality.

The acquisition of Stratema’s innovative dispenser range, strong service capabilities, and deep market knowledge significantly enhances Gilbarco Veeder-Root’s business in Brazil. The company is looking forward to working with Stratema’s highly experienced team to deliver outstanding value to retailers and commercial operators throughout this important market, said Dilnot.

Joe Walton, President, Stratema, said Gilbarco Veeder-Root’s global development capability, resources, and product range will enrich the relationships the company has with its customers. Stratema looks forward to offering its customers the best options and solutions to improve their profitability, said Walton.

Stratema will continue to operate from its existing facilities in Sao Paolo. The current Stratema management team will play an important role in the leadership of the combined Stratema and Gilbarco Veeder-Root business in Brazil.

Gilbarco Veeder-Root is the leading global supplier of integrated fuel control, site management, and support services for petroleum marketers and commercial fueling enterprises. Products include dispensers, payment systems, tank gauges, submersible pumps, point of sale systems, and remote monitoring of site functionality.

The Gilbarco Veeder-Root group of companies employs approximately 4,000 associates and is headquartered in Greensboro, NC, USA with manufacturing and research and development centers around the world.

Stratema is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of fueling and site management systems. Around the world, Stratema’s companies provide innovative products and systems for retail petroleum, convenience store, and hypermarket customers, designed to offer ease-of-use and maximum convenience at exceptional value.

Gilbarco was first in the industry to announce UL listing for E85 (85% ethanol) dispensers and blenders. The Brazilian acquisition follows other similar investments aimed at enhancing the company’s global offering. Recently, Gilbarco acquired the Petroleum Dispensing Pump Business Unit of Larsen & Toubro Limited, Mumbai, India.

According to Carrefour, the Board of Directors, in light of the information received and the expected synergies deemed that the project is fully in line with Carrefour’s strategy to strengthen its footprint in its principal growth markets and would create value for Carrefour.

This transaction, should it be completed, would lead to the creation of a major retail player in Brazil, the world’s third-biggest market in terms of food spending, with estimated pro forma 2011 sales for the combined entity of more than € 30 billion.

The entity resulting from the merger would benefit from the expertise of Carrefour and CBD in the hypermarket format (Extra and Carrefour), CBD’s strong position in the supermarket segment (Pão de Açúcar, Extra Facil) and Carrefour’s leadership in Cash & Carry (Atacadão).

The company would also be a leader in the fast-growing market for home appliances through its Ponto Frio and Casas Bahia banners. Full-year synergies have been estimated at between € 600 million and € 800 million.

If this transaction is completed, Carrefour would significantly increase its exposure to growth markets, which would account for more than 40% of its consolidated sales in 2013.

The transaction remains subject to certain conditions precedent, of which approval by CBD and final approval by BNDES’s Board of Directors.

Gama is a company wholly-owned by a fund managed by BTG Pactual and the partnership will receive a capital injection from the Brazilian National Development Bank (BNDES).  The Board of Directors deemed that this proposal would create value for Carrefour and CBD1 (Grupo Pão de Açúcar) as well as their respective shareholders and believes, in these conditions, that the project’s merits will favor a consensus.

This proposed transaction contemplates the merger of Carrefour’s Brazilian assets with those of CBD in an equally-owned joint venture, while Gama would become a shareholder in Carrefour.

Over the past 40 years, the Carrefour group has grown to become one of the world’s leading distribution groups.

Opened on April 28, 2009, Shopping Center Paralela mall is located in Salvador, Bahia. The city is the 3rd largest capital in Brazil, the largest city in the northeast, and has 2.7 million inhabitants. The asset has 39,800 m2 of total GLA and is located in an area of strong real estate development, a vector of the city growth.

The price paid for the mall and administration is R$237.5 million, of which 40% will be paid in cash and the remainder in four equal annual installments. The acquisition also involves the payment of R$47.5 million for 95% of the parking operation, and it will be paid in the same format as the acquisition of the mall. However, the first payment is conditioned on the initiation of parking fees collection in the city.

With the acquisition of Shopping Paralela, BRMALLS will have an important platform to expand its presence in the northeast, and consolidating its position in the region. The acquisition increases BRMALLS’ owned GLA in 37,800 m2, reaching a total of 672.1 thousand m2, and its total GLA in 39,800 m2, reaching 1,259,000 m2, reaching an average ownership stake of 53.4% in BRMALLS’ portfolio.

In addition to the 330 stores that make up its diverse mix, Shopping Paralela also has a 2-floor parking lot and 2,400 parking spots with a 200,000 vehicles/month capacity. The mall also has available area to ensure future expansion.

The mall is still undergoing a consolidation phase due to its recent opening, resulting in a vacancy of 8.5%, above the portfolio’s average of BRMALLS.

Since its inauguration the asset was managed and leased by an independent company. BRMALLS believes that by enhancing the operational management of the asset in order to reach the standard of its portfolio, the project will provide substantial improvements related to leasing, tenant mix and vacancy reduction.

Furthermore, the implementation of BRMALLS management practices is expected to generate efficiency and scale gains, due to its integration to the shared services center (CSC).

BRMALLS is the largest integrated mall company in Brazil, with a portfolio of 41 malls, comprising 1,259.0 thousand m2 of GLA and 672.1 thousand m2 of owned GLA.

Sendas is a leading local supermarket retail chain in Brazil. Companhia Brasileira de Distribuicao acquired 57.43 per cent of Sendas back in 2004. According to its announcement, Companhia Brasileira de Distribuicao will pay for the investment through a series of seven installments.

The Company said the first one, in the amount of 59 million Brazilian reals, is to be paid on the date of the closing of the acquisition, and the remaining balance, in the total amount of 318 million real, in six equal, consecutive, annual installments of 53 million reals, the first one being due on July 1, 2011, in that the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th installments shall be monetarily updated under the (official inflation index) IPCA’s positive variation, based on the month of July 2010.

Companhia Brasileira de Distribuicao is jointly controlled by the Diniz family of Sao Paulo, the chain’s founders, and French retail company Casino Guichard-Perrachon SA. Its main competitors in Brazil include U.S. retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and France’s Carrefour SA.

Companhia Brasileira de Distribuicao, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a retailer and wholesaler of food products, bazaar articles, clothing, home appliances, and other products through its chain of hypermarkets, supermarkets, specialized and department stores, convenience stores, and the Internet in Brazil.

The company operates its stores under the Pao de Acucar, CompreBem, Extra, Extra Eletro, Extra Perto, Extra Facil, Extra.com, Sendas, Assai, and Ponto Frio e PontoFrio.com names. As of December 31, 2009, it operated 1,080 stores. The company is headquartered in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Sendas is a supermarket chain in Rio de Janeiro State, currently owned by Grupo Pão de Açúcar (Companhia Brasileira de Distribuicao’s trading name). Prior to the Pão de Açúcar takeover, Sendas owned Sendas supermarkets, Bon Marché hypermarkets and Casa Show home improvement stores.

After the transaction, Bon Marché stores were rebranded as Extra Bon Marché (part of Extra Hipermercados), and Casa Show was spun off.

Proceeds from the sale of non-convertible debentures will be used to beef up the company’s on-hand cash and could be used for possible acquisitions, including stakes in shopping centers or other real estate, the company said in a preliminary prospectus. Iguatemi said it was evaluating opportunities but did not have any definitive targets.

Banco Itau is lead coordinator of the operation, Iguatemi said. In 2007, Iguatemi raised $228 million in an initial public offering on the Brazilian Stock Exchange, or Bovespa.

The company is based in Sao Paulo and administers 11 shopping centers across Brazil, including the traditional and high-profile Shopping Center Iguatemi based in the city of Sao Paulo. The shopping center was founded in 1966 and has some of the world’s most famous retailers, such as Bulgari, Calvin Klein, Emporio Armani and H.Stern.

Iguatemi Empresa de Shopping Centers SA (IESC) is a Brazil-based company active in the mall sector in Brazil. The Company’s operations include identifying opportunities and designing, planning, developing and managing regional shopping malls, as well as multi-purpose real estate developments, such as malls combined with commercial towers and residential developments. IESC retains interest in 11 malls and manages nine of them.

As of 2009, the Company was engaged in the construction of five new malls, four of them located in Sao Paulo and one in Brasilia. IESC’s major shareholder is Jereissati Participacoes SA, which is part of the Jereissati Group.

Just recently, Iguatemi Empresa de Shopping Centers SA announced that it has acquired land with area of 50,200 square meters for the price of 30,000,000 Brazilian reals in the city of Votorantim, attached to another land purchased in 2008. Together, the lands add up to 95,200 square meters.

The Company also announced a new Greenfield project in the land, a shopping center with 57,600 square meters of gross leasable area (GLA), which will be done in two phases. Additionally, four commercial towers will be built in the land until 2019, adding up to 60,000 square meters of GLA.

The firm fell 6.3 per cent to 23.10 reais in Sao Paulo trading last week, the biggest decline since May 20, reported Bloomberg. Hypermarcas will pay 600 million reais in cash for 24 per cent of closely held Mantecorp and issue 78 million shares to its owners, the Mantegazza family, for the remaining 76 per cent, read a regulatory filing made by the firm. The new stock would be valued at 1.92 billion reais, based on the Dec. 17 Hypermarcas closing price of 24.65 reais.

This year Hypermarcas has acquired companies including generic-drug manufacturer Laboratorio Neo Quimica, diaper-maker Sapeka and Colgate-Palmolive Co.’s soap brand. Hypermarcas wants to boost sales by an average of 65 per cent in the next five years.

The company will focus on integration and organic growth in 2011, and expects operational savings of more than 148 million reais after the full integration with Mantecorp, Bergamo said in a conference call with investors and analysts today, said a Bloomberg report.

Mantecorp, the Rio de Janeiro-based owner of the Episol sun-protection brand and Epidrat moisturizers, will report net sales this year of 572 million reais and gross profit of 375 million reais, according to a presentation by Hypermarcas. About 46 per cent of Mantecorp’s sales come from prescription drugs, 30 per cent from over-the-counter medicines, 16 per cent from skin- care products and 8 per cent from generic drugs, it said.

Hypermarcas expects its margin on earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization — a measure of profitability — to reach 47 percent in the first half of 2013, from 21 percent now, said Bloomberg.

Hypermarcas is one of the largest consumer goods companies funded with Brazilian capital and has the largest and most diversified portfolio of brands, including a number of leading brands in their respective markets. It operates in four market segments, developing, manufacturing and distributing products that belong to a traditional and well-established portfolio of brands. In April, Hypermarcas completed its 3rd equity offering, when more than R$1.2 Billion were collected.

Under the terms of the agreement, the deal will see BR Malls Participacoes acquire the stake for a price of 425 million reals, of which 265.6 million reals will be paid in 10 quarterly installments starting on the 21st month. Other than that, BRMALLS signed a document that guarantees a call option to acquire the remaining 50.01 per cent in up to 90 days from today.

However, the approval remains subject to approval from shareholders. From the total of 800 million reals for 100 per cent ownership stake, 775 million reals are regarding the mall and 25 million reals refer to the commercial towers.

The acquisition of Shopping Tijuca will generate great synergy to BR Malls portfolio in Rio de Janeiro, being its 9th mall in the city and its 24th mall in the Southeast region, which is responsible for the highest percentage of Brazil’s retail sales. Additionally, it will contribute to the firm’s presence in the mid-income class, noted the firm.

Considering 100 per cent of the mall, BR Malls estimates that Shopping Tijuca will generate 78.2 million reals in NOI (including service revenues) to BRMALLS in 2011, being one of the firm’s top NOI contributors in 2011. The potential estimated NOI for 100 per cent of the commercial towers is 5.0 million reals.

BRMALLS is the largest integrated mall company in Brazil, with a portfolio of 39 malls, comprising 1,167.2 thousand m² of GLA and 552.3 thousand m² of owned GLA. BRMALLS is the only shopping mall company in Brazil with nationwide presence and targeting all income segments.

Inaugurated in 1996, Shopping Tijuca is positioned in a privileged location in the Tijuca neighborhood, in an area with a large traffic of people, surrounded by three subway stations and enclosed by important avenues, besides being only a couple minutes away from Maracana Stadium and the UERJ University campus. Tijuca has over 150 thousand inhabitants, primarily from the mid-income class.

The Chilean firm will remit an estimated 1.35 billion reals for the Brazilian investment. Supermercados Bretas is a privately held owner of 62 supermarkets, three distribution centers and 10 service stations. Supermercados Bretas is expected to double the Chilean firm’s foothold in Brazil. The Brazilian monthly retail sales went up by 10.4 per cent in August from 2009 and have been on the rise since December 2003, thanks to record low unemployment and credit expansion.

For Cencosud SA, the Brazilian investment marks yet another of its major investments, coming after the firm acquired a controlling stake in Empresas Almacenes Paris SA. Cencosud SA commenced its regional expansion strategy in 2009 as Chile’s economy begun a slowed recovery from its worst slump in a decade. But even so, the recovery has been impressive, with a comeback that shown great performance.

Led by its Chairman, as well as a controlling shareholder Paulmann, the firm spent around $1 billion buying up retailers in Brazil and Peru and expanding the Easy home improvement chain in Colombia before the global credit crisis slowed consumer spending in Latin America.

Bretas expects its sales to increase to 2.5 billion reais in 2010 from 2.1 billion reais last year, Cencosud said in a statement. Cencosud’s supermarkets, home-improvement stores and department stores employ about 100,000 people, around 10 times Bretas’s workforce.

The statement further added that with this strategic acquisition Cencosud enters the states of Minas Gerais and Goias, consolidating its position in Brazilian supermarkets, but did not reveal how it will finance the deal or name any investment banks involved. However, analysts said the Chilean retailer may utilize its cash reserves and raise debt without deteriorating its financial ratios.

Cencosud S.A. is a Chilean based multi-format retailer with operations in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Peru.  Through its supermarket, home improvement, department stores, shopping centers and financial services divisions, the Company targets a wide range of customers with the right combinations of products, prices and quality, designed to meet their growing demands.