FAQs

Almacenes Éxito S.A. has common shares listed on the Colombia Stock Exchange (bvc). Besides, the Company has listed ADRs Level II in the United States and BDRs Level II in Brazil.  JP Morgan and Itau are the Depositary banks respectively.

Any person or entity interested in buying Éxito´s shares must get in contact with a stockbroker firm duly registered with the Colombia Stock Exchange. The stockbroker firm is in charge of providing the customer with all the necessary information about the purchasing process and the business conditions and who represents the person/entity in the same process through an entailment previous process.

Once the stockbroker buys the shares, the person/entity receives a receipt issued by the Colombia Stock Exchange to guarantee the acquired obligations.

It is an entity legally authorized to purchase and sale of securities that are issued on a stock exchange. It can conduct business on behalf of third parties, where the trader is in charge of making transactions between buyers and sellers of securities in exchange for a fee charged for this service. In Colombia, the stock brokerage firms are members of the Colombia Stock Exchange and are supervised by the Colombian Financial Superintendence.

Yes, each potential investor can choose the stock brokerage within the list published in the Colombia Stock Exchange.

The return obtained by investing in stocks or equities involves the periodic payment of dividends to shareholders and the valuations of the shares in the stock market. Dividends are approved annually by the General Shareholders Meeting and correspond to a percentage of Net Profit of the Company. The share valuation depends on the market expectations about the company's performance over a period of time or movements and fluctuations of supply and demand for the stock which can increase or decrease its value in a certain period of time

The General Shareholders´ Meeting approved at its ordinary meeting held on March 21, 2024‚ to distribute as dividends sixty five thousand five hundred twenty-nine million one seventy one thousand four hundred eighty-six  pesos (COP$65,529,171,486).  The total amount decreed corresponds to an annual dividend of COP$50.49 per share. . 

The decreed dividend will be paid in four installments as follows: 

a. One installment on April 9, 2024, of $7,571,445,337
b. One installment on July 9, 2024, of $7,571,445,337
c. One installment on October 8, 2024, of $25,193,140,406, and 
d. An installment on December 10, 2024, of $25,193,140,406. 

For shareholders who are not tax residents in Colombia, the dividend will not be taxed with income tax, dividend tax or industry and commerce tax. 
By virtue of the application of the CHC regime (Colombian Holding Companies), for national shareholders the dividends will not be taxed with income tax, but with dividend tax and industry and commerce tax at the rate that corresponds to legal or natural persons according to the case and in accordance with the guidelines of the Tax Statute. 

In accordance with the provisions of Decree 4766 of 2011 and the General Regulations of the Stock Exchange, the stock negotiations that take place between the first day of dividends payment and the four trading days prior to that date do not include the right to receive dividends (ex–dividend period).  

In accordance with the dividend payment dates, the initial dates of the ex-dividend periods will correspond to the following:  April 3, July 3, October 2 and December 4, 2024

In order to update the data in the Issuer's Shareholders' Book and/or register an account for the payment of dividends, please fill in the F-ME-GQ-324 Format for payment of dividends in the link: https://www.bvc.com.co/documentos-post-negociacion?tab=formatos-accionistas, with the following documents:

- Copy of the shareholder's identity document

- Bank certification that contains at least the names and surnames of the account holder, type and number of document, type and number of bank account and bank branch code not older than 90 days of issuance.

- For Legal person, attach a certificate of existence and legal representation issued by a competent entity, as well as a copy of the legal representative ID.

If the investor is under-age:
- Copy of the identity document of the representative or tutor.

- Authentic, or authenticated, or simple copy with the declaration of having been taken from the original of the Civil Registry of Birth of the under-age with complementary number.

- Copy of identity card if older than 7 years.

Please note that the format must have recognition of signature, fingerprint and content before a Public Notary.

This documentation must be filed at any of Deceval offices located at:

✔ Bogotá: Carrera 7 #71-21 Torre B, 12th floor from Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

✔ Medellín: Carrera 43 A 1 – 50 tower 3 office- 301 San Fernando Plaza on Tuesdays from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

As of 2019, the certificate is available on the Company's website (www.grupoexito.com.co/es/shareholdersandinvestors) to be downloaded by completing the required information.

Likewise, the shareholder can request the income certificate  directly from our Stock program administrator, through the following Deceval channels:

National toll-free 01 8000 111 901

From Bogota to (601) 3077127

By an email to servicioalcliente@bvc.com.co (the request must be made by the shareholder and attach a legible copy of the ID).

If the shares are dematerialized, the tax certificate can be requested from the Brokerage Firm managing your shares.

Since 2019, the certificate can be downloaded from the Company´s website ( https://www.grupoexito.com.co/en/download-your-tax-certificate) completing the requested information.   

As of November 15, 2022, shareholders can request the certificate through Exito´s shareholders book administrator, Deceval:

-Toll-Free line 01 8000 111 901
-Bogota at (601) 3077127
- servicioalcliente@bvc.com.co

As administrator of the Grupo Éxito´s shareholder´s book, Deceval is responsible for the comprehensive management of the shares.  

Deceval-bvc shareholder service

-Toll-free line 01 8000 111 901

- Bogota at (601) 3077127

- servicioalcliente@bvc.com.co

- Bogotá: Carrera 7 #71-21 Torre B, 12th floor. Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

-Virtual office programming through the line (601) 3077127

You can also directly contact Grupo Exito: 

María Fernanda Moreno Rodríguez

Head of Investor Relations - Grupo Éxito

mmorenor@grupo-exito.com

Tel: ) 6049696 Ext 306560 or 305546

Carrera 48 #32 B Sur - 139 - Las Vegas Avenue - Envigado, Colombia

If your concern or comment is related to Tarjeta Éxito, Fundación Éxito or a different issue for shareholders and investors, we ask you to contact customer service through:

Toll-free line: 018000 428 800

www.grupoexito.com.co/es/clientes/contactenos

In case of loss and/or misplacement of the security title(s), is not necessary to request its replacement as of November 15, 2022, due to the dematerialization process carried out by the Company.

If you need to request the certificate of shares, certificate of deposit and/or certificate of acceptance of offer, please contact Deceval:

-Toll-free line 01 8000 111 901

-From Bogota to (601) 3077127

-servicioalcliente@bvc.com.co (The request must be made by the shareholder and attach a legible copy of the ID).

The shareholder can communicate through the following Deceval channels:

● Toll-free line 01 8000 111 901

● From Bogota to (601) 3077127

● servicioalcliente@bvc.com.co (The request must be made by the shareholder and attach a legible copy of the ID).

If you require information on behalf of a third party, you must present the power of attorney granted by the shareholder with a valid note of no more than 30 days, jointly with a legible copy of the shareholder and proxy ID.

This documentation must be filed at Deceval office located at:

 ✔ Bogotá: Carrera 7 #71-21 Torre B, 12th floor. Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

✔ Medellín: Carrera 43 A 1 – 50 tower 3 office- 301 San Fernando Plaza. On Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. and from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Since November 15, 2022, it is not necessary to carry out or request the immobilization of the shares, considering that they are already dematerialized before Deceval.

If you require financial information, you can find financial statements, operational results and strategic plans previously published to the market on a quarterly and annual base, under the following link:

https://www.grupoexito.com.co/en/financial-information

The merger between Almacenes Éxito S.A. (the “Company” or “Éxito”) and Cadenalco S.A. (“Cadenalco”) was completed at the Company´s Extraordinary Shareholders Assembly held on August 31, 2001, and through the public deed from November 9, 2001, registered on November 28, 2001. Given the above, Cadenalco´s shareholders must exchange their shares, at a factor of 1 Company´s share in exchange for 4.7 of Cadenalco´s shares.

After the dematerialization process, it is not necessary to do any procedure, because the change is automatic. Those shareholders who still have shares of Cadenalco, will automatically receive their rights in Éxito shares. If the shareholders want to sell their shares at any time, they must do so through the Stock Exchange, and the transfer of the shares will be completed by book entry in Deceval. To do this, they must be linked to a stock brokerage company. 

The merger between Almacenes Éxito S.A. (the “Company” or “Éxito”) and Carulla Vivero S.A. (“Carulla Vivero”) was completed at the Company´s Extraordinary Shareholders Assembly held on May 24, 2010, and through the public deed from September 2, 2010, registered on September 2, 2010. Given the above, Carulla Vivero´s shareholders must exchange their shares, at a factor of 3.6 Company´s shares in exchange for 1 Carulla Vivero´s ordinary share.

After the dematerialization process, it is not necessary to do any procedure, because the change is automatic. Those shareholders who still have shares of Carulla will automatically receive their rights in Éxito shares. If the shareholders want to sell their shares at any time, they must do so through the Stock Exchange, and the transfer of the shares will be completed by book entry in Deceval. To do this, they must be linked to a stock brokerage company. 

The most recent issuance of common shares was in September 2011 for 114.270.684 shares with a subscription price of COP21,900/share for a total amount of COP$2,5 billion.

The Company invested USD 746 million for the acquisition of 100% of the shares of Spice Investment Mercosur SA, a holding company that owns 96.5% of Lanin SA and 62.5% of the Grupo Disco Uruguay SA, which own directly and indirectly the supermarket brands Disco and Devoto in Uruguay. The remaining proceeds have been used to accelerate the expansion strategy of the Company, the development of new commercial Real Estate projects, and internationalization of operations.

Any future resource needs will always be analyzed and if applicable a new issuance, it will be announced to the market in due course through the required and authorized by law channels.

It is a share that is not physically represented in a security title, but rather is represented in a book entry held by a central securities depository, which, in this case, is Deceval, who has in custody a macro title representative of the entire inssuance. The owner of the share is the one who appears registered in the Issuer's shareholders' book with its corresponding book entry in the system managed by Deceval.

That owner does not require a security title to exercise their political and economic rights; its annotation in the register managed by Deceval is enough. Now, if that owner wants a certificate stating that it appears in the registry, Deceval will issue that certificate, upon request to the corresponding Issuer or Direct Depositor, which will give an account of the values on deposit recorded in the account in favor of the investor, and may be used for the exercise of patrimonial and/or political rights, as appropriate. These certificates are enforceable but cannot circulate or serve to transfer ownership of the securities, which can only be transferred by book entry.

Specifically, the Company's Board of Directors approved on October 6, 2022 to do the necessary procedures to carry out the dematerialization of all its shares and, therfore, as of November 15, 2022 the Company's shares begun to circulate in a dematerialized way through the registry and book-entry carried by Deceval. Therefore, as of this date, the physical securities will no longer be valid, without the need to carry out any procedure whatsoever.

The shares dematerialization brings a series of advantages to the Company and its shareholders. In addition to bringing the Company up to global stock trading standards, it facilitates the operational implementation of corporate events (such as shareholders' meetings), reduces the risk of (physical) fraud, provides security over the number of shares held by each shareholder, and facilitates the negotiation processes.

The shareholder does not have to do anything to dematerialize their shares. The shares dematerialization is a process managed by the Company and coordinated by Deceval through the delivery by the Company of the duly updated shareholder registry book.

Specifically, the Company's Board of Directors approved on October 6, 2022 to do the necessary procedures to carry out the dematerialization of all its shares and, therefore, as of November 15, 2022 the Company's shares began to circulate in a dematerialized way through the registry and book-entry carried by Deceval. Therefore, as of this date, the physical securities will no longer be valid, without the need to carry out any procedure whatsoever.

No. The shareholders will not assume additional costs related to the dematerialization. If the shareholders want to sell their shares, they must assume those costs that derive from the negotiation of their shares in the secondary market.

The rights of the shareholders are not affected by the dematerialization. The shareholders will continue to have the same shares and the same rights that they had before the dematerialization.

Shareholders will be able to exercise their rights effectively without the need to have a physical security since their representation in meetings and some other procedures can be done with the exhibition of their identity document and without the need to present any other different support. 

It is not necessary to do any procedure, because the change is automatic. the Company will represent as a direct depositor before Deceval, all those shareholders who have physical shares and do not have a stockbroker as of this date.

If the shareholders want to sell their shares at any time, they must do so through the Stock Exchange, and the transfer of the shares will be completed by book entry in Deceval. To do this, they must be linked to a stock brokerage company. The foregoing means that the holders of physical shares will not be able to trade their shares and/or transfer ownership over them through mechanisms other than book entry, whose record must be updated upon request made to Deceval through its corresponding Direct Depositor or the Issuer, in the event that the latter holds said capacity or the entity designated by it.

It is not necessary to do any procedure, because the change is automatic. Those shareholders who still have shares in Cadenalco or Carulla will automatically receive their rights in Éxito shares. If the shareholders want to sell their shares at any time, they must do so through the Stock Exchange, and the transfer of the shares will be completed by book entry in Deceval. To do this, they must be linked to a stock brokerage company.

Shareholders who currently have a direct depositor, that is, a brokerage company with direct access to Deceval and its systems for registration purposes, will have their shares booked on the day of the dematerialization process in that same direct depositor.

 The Company will represent as a direct depositor before Deceval, all those shareholders who have physical shares and do not have a stockbroker as of this date.

The shareholder must go to the Issuer or whoever it designates and request the change from the depositor with whom the shareholder has previously been linked.

No, on the contrary, it facilitates it since the secondary sale of the shares can only be carried out with dematerialized shares.

Almacenes Éxito S.A. treats the personal data provided by the shareholder during its relationship as a shareholder, in order to comply with the legal duties that the company has towards the shareholder, generate the corresponding legal certifications, and carry out the contact and activities to guarantee the transparent flow of information that is of interest to the shareholder based on this quality, in compliance with the applicable legal regulations and in accordance with the provisions of the personal data processing policy of Almacenes Éxito S.A. Personal data may be processed by those in charge of processing for the development of the purposes described above, including the intermediary and/or centralized deposit that is in charge of managing the shares of Almacenes Éxito S.A. The data may be consulted in databases with a public vocation for risk management, and the shareholder is reminded that they can exercise their habeas data rights through the email protection.datos@grupo-exito.com. The personal data processing policy of Almacenes Éxito S.A. can be consulted at www.grupoexito.com.co 

It is an operation to divide the nominal value of a share. When carrying out a split, the number of shares (authorized and subscribed) of a company increases and their nominal value decreases. A split generates a change in the nominal value of a share and in the number of shares, but does not modify the value of the capital or the investment that each shareholder has in the issuer.

This implies for a shareholder that the number of shares he owns increases, but his investment will remain the same.

The split presented by Éxito consisted in modifying the nominal value per share established in article 5 of the bylaws, which decreased from $10 to $3.333333333340 per share.

By making this modification, the number of shares increased in the same proportion:

The effect for each shareholder was an increase in the number of shares representing their investment in the Company, but the value of their investment did not change. This procedure did not have any cost or involved additional paperwork for the shareholders. After the approval of the split, the shares began to circulate in a dematerialized way and the required electronic registration was carried out, without the need for the shareholders to carry out any procedure.

As a result of this process, the number of shares held by the shareholders was multiplied by 3 and the closing price of the share on the day immediately prior to which the BVC  implemented the Split was adjusted accordingly by dividing it by the same factor of 3 at the beginning of said day, in this way the negotiations in the market continued normally and freely.

Below, for illustrative purposes, is an example of the impacts that the number of shares and the share price of two ÉXITO shareholders had, which applyed to all shareholders.

In any case, both shareholder A and shareholder B retained the same degree of participation before and after the Split.

No, the share trading was not suspended at any time as a result of the split. The BVC carried out the corresponding operating procedures during the weekend of November 19 and 20, 2022 (non-stock days). In this way, at the beginning of the trading session on the first business day of the following week, November 21, 2022, the adjustment would  have already been made in the BVC's transactional systems.

There was no impact on the portfolio of each shareholder in terms of their participation in the Company; although, the value per share reduced and, therefore, said difference was compensated with the increase in the number of shares owned. This is  why the value of the portfolio or investment remained the same.

The value of the dividend is directly related to the annual generation of profits of the Company. It is important to clarify that the decrease in the nominal value is a statutory reform that does not interfere in the normal development of the Company's operations and, consequently, the percentage of the profit approved to distribute as a dividend will continue to be subject to approval by the Assembly, which will determine the future percentages to be distributed, based on the profits and the available cash generated by the Company and not based on the nominal value or number of shares.

Although the equity value of the share decreased, the number of outstanding shares (subscribed) increased, so the effect in terms of value for each shareholder is the same. No accounting entry was made as a result of the share Split; there was no movement in  the value of the capital paid by the shareholders or in the share placement premium that    is registered.

No. This process did not imply an increase or decrease in capital. The authorized and     subscribed capital of the Company remained the same; the only change that was made had to do with the decrease in the nominal value of each share and, therefore, in the number of shares, without affecting the participation of each shareholder in the Company.

The split did not entail a dilution or increase in the shares of the shareholders in the Company's capital, which remained unchanged. Only the number of shares owned by each shareholder changed. The exercise of the political and economic rights     of each shareholder remain the same.

Taking into account a number of considerations, including the Company’s current reduced free float (13.2%), which is distributed between Colombia with 1.6%, the United States with 1.6% and Brazil with 10%, which represents an opportunity for the Company to look forward to a more efficient structure for all stakeholders.

On December 30, 2024, the Company expects to file a Form 25 with the SEC to begin the process of delisting its ADRs from the NYSE.  Effective on January 9, 2025, the ADRs are expected to be delisted from the NYSE and begin to trade over-the-counter.  At the close of business New York time on January 21, 2025, the ADR Program will terminate.  You will not be able to buy or sell ADRs after that date.  If you still hold ADRs at that time, you may surrender your ADRs to J.P. Morgan, the depositary, to cancel the ADRs and take ownership of the underlying shares until March 3, 2025; you will need to have a brokerage account in Colombia in order to do so.  If you do not take any action, J.P. Morgan will endeavor to sell the underlying shares after March 3, 2025 and will distribute the proceeds of the sale as soon as practicable.  If you are a registered shareholder, you will need to surrender your stock certificate(s) in order to receive the proceeds.

The program will be effectively terminated at the close of business NY time on January 21, 2025.

For the time being, yes.  Until such time as the Company is able to deregister its securities in the U.S., it will remain a reporting company in the U.S. and be required to file reports with the SEC, including an annual report on Form 20-F and ongoing reports on Form 6-K.

Once the Company is able to meet all of the SEC’s requirements for deregistration, it will begin the process to deregister.  At this time, the Company cannot anticipate when this will take place; however, it may take up to one year or more for the Company to deregister.

You may surrender your ADRs to J.P. Morgan, the depositary, to cancel the ADSs and take ownership of the underlying shares between now and March 3, 2025; you will need to have a brokerage account in Colombia in order to do so.  If you do not take any action, J.P. Morgan will endeavor to sell the underlying shares after March 3, 2025 and will distribute the proceeds of the sale as soon as practicable.  If you are a registered shareholder, you will need to surrender your stock certificate(s) in order to receive the proceeds.

The delisting from the NYSE will not impact the voting and dividend rights of ADR holders.  However, following termination of the ADR program, the Depositary will no longer solicit proxy voting; therefore, you will not be entitled to vote on any matters brought to shareholders. In addition, following termination of the ADR program, the depositary will hold on to any dividends distributed to which you are entitled as an ADR holder and distribute those dividends to you: (i) at the time you surrender your ADRs, which you are able to do so through March 3, 2025; or (ii) if you do not take any action by March 3, 2025, together with the proceeds from the sale of the underlying shares. 

You will not incur any costs merely as a result of the delisting.  However, if you choose to surrender your ADRs and take ownership of the underlying Colombian shares on or prior to March 3, 2025, the depositary will charge you a cancellation fee of U.S.$5.00 for each 100 ADS (or portion thereof) cancelled, plus a cancellation transaction fee of U.S.$15.00 will be charged on ADSs surrendered.

ADR holders need to consult their tax advisor(s).

With the deregistration, the Company’s reporting obligations under the Exchange Act and SOX compliance obligations will terminate. However, the Company intends to continue to post on its website English translations all of its material facts and other shareholder communications required to be provided to shareholders under Colombian law. In addition, although the Company will not be required to provide annual and quarterly financial statements audited or reviewed under PCAOB standards, it will continue to publish annual and quarterly financial statements audited or reviewed under [Colombian auditing standards].

The Notice to ADR holders is published on https://www.adr.com/drprofile/02028M105.