Apollo Global Management, Inc. (APO) is betting on France's appetite for fresh food. The investment giant announced that Apollo-managed funds have agreed to acquire a majority stake in Prosol Group, a leading French fresh food retailer, from private equity firm Ardian. Financial terms weren't disclosed, because apparently that's how we're doing things today.

The transaction gives Apollo control of a fast-growing European fresh food retailer. Existing Prosol shareholders and executives plan to reinvest alongside Apollo-managed funds, which is usually a good sign that insiders still believe in the story.

The parties expect the deal to wrap up during the second quarter of 2026, assuming they clear the usual regulatory hurdles and customary closing conditions.

What Prosol Actually Does

Prosol Group has been in the fresh food game since 1992. The company built a vertically integrated sourcing and logistics network that keeps quality consistent and pricing stable across its stores. Prosol works with more than 2,300 supplier partners scattered across Europe, which gives it serious scale and negotiating power.

The retailer operates nearly 450 locations throughout France. Its flagship brand, Grand Frais, focuses on produce, dairy, and seafood. There's also Fresh., a fully owned format that sells meat alongside other fresh categories. Rounding out the portfolio are La Boulangerie du Marché and BioFrais. Prosol has even expanded into Italy with Banco Fresco stores and runs an online operation called mon-marché.fr.

Apollo sees Prosol as a category leader with strong customer loyalty and plans to support expansion across France and into new European markets. Alex van Hoek, who leads Apollo's European private equity efforts, made the case pretty clearly: "Prosol is a clear category leader in fresh food retail, with a powerful customer proposition and outstanding sourcing model."

Apollo's French Connection

This isn't Apollo's first rodeo in France. The firm has been investing there for more than two decades and currently has about 14 billion euros deployed across French strategies. Past investments include companies like Constellium, Verallia, and Vallourec. Apollo has also provided financing to major names like Air France-KLM, EDF, and TotalEnergies.

APO shares were down 0.22% at $146.51 during premarket trading on Tuesday.