BRUSSELS, Belgium, December 30, 2011 - 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 downwards by BlackRock which now owns 4.00% of Delhaize Group's voting rights as follows:
| Holders of voting rights | Number of voting rights from previous notification | Current number of voting rights | Current percentage of voting rights |
| BlackRock, Inc. | 0 | 0 | 0.00% |
| BlackRock Asset Management Australia Limited | 80 089 | 39 628 | 0.04% |
| BlackRock Asset Management Japan Limited | 319 107 | 299 431 | 0.29% |
| BlackRock Advisors (UK) Limited | 684 184 | 574 718 | 0.56% |
| BlackRock Asset Management Deutschland AG | 54 613 | 55 508 | 0.05% |
| BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, N.A. | 2 830 000 | 2 079 617 | 2.04% |
| BlackRock Fund Advisors | 517 839 | 505 377 | 0.50% |
| BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited | 53 670 | 40 499 | 0.04% |
| BlackRock Advisors, LLC | 9 953 | 9 167 | 0.01% |
| BlackRock Financial Management, Inc. | 43 417 | 33 110 | 0.03% |
| BlackRock Investment Management, LLC | 232 644 | 100 275 | 0.10% |
| BlackRock Investment Management (Australia) Limited | 10 869 | 9 222 | 0.01% |
| BlackRock (Netherlands) B.V. | 17 403 | 20 131 | 0.02% |
| BlackRock Fund Managers Limited | 28 344 | 30 263 | 0.03% |
| BlackRock Asset Management Ireland Limited | 102 016 | 131 858 | 0.13% |
| BlackRock International Limited | 13 180 | 3 881 | 0.00% |
| BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited | 150 326 | 143 381 | 0.14% |
| Total | 5 147 654 | 4 076 066 | 4.00% |
On December 28, 2011, BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited notified Delhaize Group that as of December 22, 2011 BlackRock owned 4 076 066 Delhaize Group shares, representing 4.00% of its voting rights. This is a decrease of 1 071 588 shares compared to the previous notification of ownership received on May 26, 2011.
According to the notification that Delhaize Group received from BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited on December 28, 2011 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 eleven countries on three continents. At the end of the third quarter of 2011, Delhaize Group's sales network consisted of 3 362 stores. In 2010, Delhaize Group posted EUR 20.8 billion (USD 27.6 billion) in revenues and EUR 574 million (USD 762 million) in net profit (Group share). At the end of the third quarter of 2011, Delhaize Group employed approximately 154 000 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 (http://www.delhaizegroup.com/). Questions can be sent to investor@delhaizegroup.com (mailto:investor@delhaizegroup.com).
» Contacts
Chris Farrell:
+ 32 2 412 75 71
Aurélie Bultynck:
+ 32 2 412 83 61
Steven Vandenbroeke (media) :
+ 32 2 412 86 69
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(i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and other applicable laws; and
(ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the
information contained therein.
Source: Delhaize Group via Thomson Reuters ONE