Carrefour, which is the biggest retailer in Europe and has operations around the globe, has dropped plans to make an offer for the Turkish supermarket chain Migros Turk, opening the way for other bidders to win an auction valued at as much as $2 billion.

Carrefour and Haci Omer Sabanci Holding, partners in a Turkish retail chain, decided against bidding for Migros Turk, Sabanci said in a filing Monday to the Istanbul Stock Exchange. They did not give a reason. Sabanci said in November that it had made a "nonbinding" offer with Carrefour for Migros Turk.

Their exit may leave Migros Turk, Turkey's biggest retailer, open for a takeover by a private equity firm or supermarket chains in Croatia and Russia. Migros Turk's main owner, Koc Holding, is selling 51 percent of the 961-store chain as it seeks to reduce debt.
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