Food retailer DIA China has signed an agreement with Nanjing Suning.com Supermarket that is tipped to lead to the Spanish company’s withdrawal from the market.

The deal relates to the sale of the total shares of Shanghai DIA Retail and DIA (Shanghai) Management Consulting Services. Completion of the transaction is subject to Chinese antitrust and regulatory authority approval.

DIA also says it is also in negotiations regarding a potential commercial collaboration with the Suning group.

DIA entered China in 2003 and has about 200 convenience stores in Shanghai, according to its website. Its income fell 9 per cent to €181.5 million (US$223.1 million) last year and its loss widened 35 per cent to €21.4 million. In the first quarter of last year, DIA put its China subsidiaries up for sale.

Internationally, DIA has 7388 stores with gross sales last year reaching €10.3 billion.