MELBOURNE: Metcash Limited said Monday it has exercised its right to acquire the Peries Group, a Queensland-based food business, after receiving a First Rights Notice under existing contractual arrangements.

The binding agreement covers 15 medium- and large-format IGA supermarkets across Queensland’s South-East, Central, Far North and Wide Bay-Burnett regions.

The stores generated about $264 million in retail sales in fiscal 2026 and employ roughly 1,000 people, Metcash said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange. Metcash’s wholesale sales to Peries totaled about $150 million in the same year.

The acquisition follows Peries’ decision to sell the business. Metcash’s acceptance of the notice triggered immediate entry into the business sale agreement.

Metcash said the deal is expected to help protect, grow and strengthen the IGA network in Queensland, which has posted stronger retail and wholesale growth than most other states over the past three years. The company already holds a 45% share of the Queensland-based Cornetts Group, which operates 35 supermarkets.

Metcash described Peries as having meaningful retail scale, strong regional market positions and an established operating platform. Its stores are concentrated in regional Queensland markets where IGA has a strong customer proposition and, in several communities, is the leading or only full-line grocery offering.

Metcash said its primary objective is to retain the stores within the IGA network and will assess the optimal long-term ownership structure, which may include divestments or joint ventures with independent operators, consistent with prior practice.

The purchase price will be calculated under a fixed formula in the Business Sale Agreement based on a multiple of EBITDA before AASB16 adjustments, the company said.