The French group CARREFOUR has acquired control of the Italian distributor GS SPA (turnover of EUR 5 billion in 1999 with 770 sales outlets), raising its share to 96.22%. The shares were bought from BENETTON and DEL VECCHIO. The amount of the transaction, which will make CARREFOUR the number two distribution firm in Italy, was not made public but is estimated by the financial dialy Milano Finanza at EUR 2.6 billion.