Germany's Metro sells German, Belgian department store business to Hudson's Bay for $3.2B

German retail and wholesale group Metro AG is selling its department store business in Germany and Belgium to Canadian retailer Hudson's Bay for just over 2.8 billion euros (around $3.2 billion).

Metro said Monday that the deal includes the Galeria Kaufhof chain in Germany and Galeria Inno in neighboring Belgium, along with the business's real-estate portfolio.

Metro said it expects to reduce its net debt by 2.7 billion euros thanks to the transaction and foresees a roughly 700 million-euro boost to pre-tax earnings.

The deal is expected to close at the end of September.