Delhaize Group press release - Disclosure of major

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM--(Marketwired - Jul 26, 2013) - Pursuant to the Belgian Law of May 2, 2007 relating to the publication of major shareholdings in listed companies, Delhaize Group (Euronext Brussels: DELB - NYSE: DEG), the Belgian international food retailer, has received a notification of the threshold of 5% being crossed by BlackRock which now owns 5.00% of Delhaize Group's voting rights as follows:

 
+-------------------------------+----------------+----------+-------------+
|                               |Number of voting| Current  |   Current   |
|    Holders of voting rights   |  rights from   |number of |percentage of|
|                               |    previous    | voting   |   voting    |
|                               |  notification  | rights   |   rights    |
+-------------------------------+----------------+----------+-------------+
|BlackRock, Inc.                |       0        |    0     |    0.00%    |
+-------------------------------+----------------+----------+-------------+
|BlackRock (Luxembourg) S.A.    |       0        | 10 329   |    0.01%    |
+-------------------------------+----------------+----------+-------------+
|BlackRock (Netherlands) B.V.   |     20 131     | 18 552   |    0.02%    |
+-------------------------------+----------------+----------+-------------+
|BlackRock Advisors (UK) Limited|    574 718     | 438 706  |    0.43%    |
+-------------------------------+----------------+----------+-------------+
|BlackRock Advisors, LLC        |     9 167      |  7 266   |    0.01%    |
+-------------------------------+----------------+----------+-------------+
|BlackRock Asset Management     |     39 628     | 38 274   |    0.04%    |
|Australia Limited              |                |          |             |
+-------------------------------+----------------+----------+-------------+
|BlackRock Asset Management     |     40 499     | 39 779   |    0.04%    |
|Canada Limited                 |                |          |             |
+-------------------------------+----------------+----------+-------------+
|BlackRock Asset Management     |     55 508     | 236 428  |    0.23%    |
|Deutschland AG                 |                |          |             |
+-------------------------------+----------------+----------+-------------+
|BlackRock Asset Management     |    131 858     | 468 241  |    0.46%    |
|Ireland Limited                |                |          |             |
+-------------------------------+----------------+----------+-------------+
|BlackRock Financial Management,|     33 110     | 86 615   |    0.08%    |
|Inc.                           |                |          |             |
+-------------------------------+----------------+----------+-------------+
|BlackRock Fund Advisors        |    505 377     | 563 732  |    0.55%    |
+-------------------------------+----------------+----------+-------------+
|BlackRock Fund Managers Limited|     30 263     | 41 745   |    0.04%    |
+-------------------------------+----------------+----------+-------------+
|BlackRock Institutional Trust  |   2 079 617    |2 378 126 |    2.33%    |
|Company, National Association  |                |          |             |
+-------------------------------+----------------+----------+-------------+
|BlackRock International Limited|     3 881      | 20 800   |    0.02%    |
+-------------------------------+----------------+----------+-------------+
|BlackRock Investment Management|     9 222      | 10 810   |    0.01%    |
|(Australia) Limited            |                |          |             |
+-------------------------------+----------------+----------+-------------+
|BlackRock Investment Management|    143 381     | 43 122   |    0.04%    |
|(UK) Limited                   |                |          |             |
+-------------------------------+----------------+----------+-------------+
|BlackRock Investment           |    100 275     | 102 107  |    0.10%    |
|Management, LLC                |                |          |             |
+-------------------------------+----------------+----------+-------------+
|BlackRock Japan Co., Ltd.      |       0        | 175 206  |    0.17%    |
+-------------------------------+----------------+----------+-------------+
|BlackRock Life Limited         |       0        | 413 103  |    0.41%    |
+-------------------------------+----------------+----------+-------------+
|iShares (DE) I                 |                |          |             |
|Investmentaktiengesellschaft   |       0        |  6 061   |    0.01%    |
|mit  Teilvermogen              |                |          |             |
+-------------------------------+----------------+----------+-------------+
|BlackRock Asset Management     |    299 431     |    0     |    0.00%    |
|Japan Limited                  |                |          |             |
+-------------------------------+----------------+----------+-------------+
|TOTAL                          |   4 076 066    |5 099 002 |    5.00%    |
+-------------------------------+----------------+----------+-------------+
 

On July 23, 2013, BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited notified Delhaize Group that as of July 8, 2013 BlackRock owned 5 099 002 Delhaize Group shares, representing 5.00% of its voting rights. This is an increase of 1 022 936 shares compared to the previous notification of ownership received on December 28, 2011.

According to the notification that Delhaize Group received from BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited on July 23, 2013 BlackRock, Inc. is the ultimate controller of the legal entities listed above. The latter, however, are the discretionary investment managers that hold the Delhaize Group shares and exercise the voting rights.

» Delhaize Group

Delhaize Group is a Belgian international food retailer present in ten countries on three continents. At the end of the first quarter of 2013, Delhaize Group's sales network consisted of 3 411 stores. In 2012, Delhaize Group posted EUR22.6 billion ($29.0 billion) in revenues and EUR104 million ($134 million) in net profit (Group share). At the end of 2012, Delhaize Group employed approximately 158 000 people. Delhaize Group's stock is listed on NYSE Euronext Brussels (DELB) and the New York Stock Exchange (DEG).

This press release is available in English, French and Dutch. You can also find it on the website http://www.delhaizegroup.com . Questions can be sent to investor@delhaizegroup.com .

cautionary note regarding forward looking statements

Statements that are included or incorporated by reference in this press release and other written and oral statements made from time to time by Delhaize Group and its representatives, other than statements of historical fact, which address activities, events and developments that Delhaize Group expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, including, without limitation, expected costs savings the closing, conversion and opening of stores, the expected effect of the portfolio optimization, anticipated revenue and net profit growth, strategic options, future strategies and the anticipated benefits of these strategies and operating profit guidance, are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws that are subject to risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified as statements that include phrases such as "guidance," "outlook," "projected," "believe," "target," "predict," "estimate," "forecast," "strategy," "may," "goal," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "foresee," "likely," "will," "should" or other similar words or phrases. Although such statements are based on current information, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from those projected depending upon a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, changes in the general economy or the markets of Delhaize Group, in strategy, in consumer spending, in inflation or currency exchange rates or in legislation or regulation; competitive factors; adverse determination with respect to claims; inability to timely develop, remodel, integrate, open, convert or close stores; and supply or quality control problems with vendors. Additional risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements are described in Delhaize Group's most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F and other filings made by Delhaize Group with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which risk factors are incorporated herein by reference. Delhaize Group disclaims any obligation to update developments of these risk factors or to announce publicly any revision to any of the forward-looking statements contained in this release, including operating profit guidance, or to make corrections to reflect future events or developments.

Press release in pdf format: http://hugin.info/133961/R/1718801/571864.pdf

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Source: Delhaize Group via Thomson Reuters ONE

[HUG#1718801]