The merge could bring together Giant, Stop & Shop, Food Lion and Hannaford.

Merging talks have just started between Royal Ahold and Delhaize Group and if they are successful a new company will be the fifth biggest supermarket chain in the US going neck and neck with Wal-Mart. Stop & Shop and Food Lion owners both said these are just preliminary talks and they may not result in any actual actions, but the story itself was just enough to bring a rise to shares of both companies on Monday.

Combining Netherland based Ahold and Belgium based Delhaize would create a business with sales over 54 billion euros, the fourth biggest food store in Europe and now with Delhaize’s management having a positive response from investors this new opportunity may become even more real.

Chances of the project coming to fruition are 50/50 as there is no clear confirmation when and where final discussions could take place. Ahold has been focusing on fresh produce to differentiate itself from competitors locally and abroad whilst also focusing on ecommerce. Delhaize has reported lower than expected profit in the first quarter due to heavy competition and strikes in Belgium which shows why they may feel becoming a larger entity will strengthen their position.

Both companies stocks rose last week, Delhaize’s by 3.6 percent and Ahold by 3.7 percent continuing on Monday and Tuesday.

Speculation about the merge started over a decade ago and this is the first time since then that talks have gotten serious. Both companies have their businesses located on the East coast of the USA and Benelux. The move would save them 600 million euros and make them much more competitive in the US market.

Analysts are pointing out that now is the time for the merge, both European chains businesses in the US are either stagnating or being crushed by their competition, so joining forces would put them in a better position.

The revenue benefits would mostly come from overhead cost reduction and online sales where Ahold is much better than Delhaize. The Belgian company would gain more from the merger than its future partner, hence its seriousness to move forward. Ahold’s plan is to increase their online sales to 2.5 billion euros by 2017 and with the merge the company could reach that point much faster.

Last time the offer was on the table Delhaize’s management was quite different in comparison to now, back in 2007 the team leading the company was more focused on improving their US business. Now with a new board leading the company and ties have been loosened with its founding family it’s very possible they will take this deal seriously.