[BERLIN] German retailer Metro AG faces a shake-up of its shareholder structure as Ceconomy announced it may join family-owned Haniel in selling a stake in the German retailer to an investor group led by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky.

Ceconomy said on Monday it was in talks to sell most of its 10 per cent stake in Metro to investor group EP Investment, represented by Kretinsky.

Shares in Metro rose 5.1 per cent to the top of Germany's mid-cap index in early Frankfurt trade, while Ceconomy was up 3 per cent.

Investment group Haniel had said on Friday that it had agreed to sell a 7.3 per cent stake in Metro to an investment vehicle of Kretinsky and Slovak investor Patrik Tkac for an undisclosed sum.

Under the terms of the deal, they can acquire Haniel's remaining 15.2 per cent stake under a call option.

Haniel is Metro's largest shareholder with 22.5 per cent, which is worth 977 million euros (S$1.52 billion) at Friday's closing price. Ceconomy owns around 10 percent.

REUTERS