Serbian Delta Maxi was in negotiations for the purchase of two supermarkets in Sofia, owned by German retailer Hit, Dnevnik dialy quoted Dragan Filipovic, General Manager of Delta Maxi, as saying.

In September 2007 Delta Maxi bought a majority stake in Bulgarian retailer Piccadilly. The company planned to invest 210 million euro and announced its ambition to become market leader on the Balkans and wider region in less than three years.

If the transaction with Hit would be successful, the outlets would be renamed to Tempo, Delta's own supermarket brand, Dnevnik daily said.

Negotiations with Hit were expected to be completed by the end of 2007, Filipovic said.

After initial investments in two outlets in Sofia, Hit decided to downscale its original investment and growth strategy plans for the Bulgarian market.

The company has always denied rumours that it was offering its Hit supermarkets for sale.

If it would sell the two outlets, Hit would be the second international retailer to withdraw from the Bulgarian market, after Turkey's Ramstore.