Carrefour is teaming up with investors to buy 127 shopping malls in which it runs stores, in a $2.8 billion deal that marks the French retailer’s latest attempt to revive its struggling European hypermarkets.

The world’s second-biggest retailer behind US group Wal-Mart has been battling for years to turn around its core hypermarket business as time-pressed customers increasingly shop locally and online, and buy non-food goods from specialists.

Chief executive Georges Plassat has had some success with a drive to revamp stores, improve price competitiveness and cut costs.

Under the deal, Carrefour and a number of unidentified institutional investors will buy the shopping malls in France, Spain and Italy from real estate group Klepierre for €2 billion ($2.8 billion). – (Reuters)