Carrefour is preparing to sell off €3bn ($4.1bn) of property assets in an initial public offering, just five months after Colony Capital, the real estate focused buyout fund, and Bernard Arnault, France's richest man, took a 9.1% stake in the French retailer.

The world's second biggest retailer by sales said it would spin off the property assets in an initial public offering scheduled for next year. The decision follows speculation that Colony and Arnault would pressurise Carrefour to monetise the value of its real estate portfolio.