Brazil's GPA to sell and leaseback 11 stores for nearly $70 million

(Reuters) - Brazilian retailer GPA reached a deal to sell and leaseback 11 of its supermarket stores to an unnamed private fund for 330 million reais ($69 million), the company announced in a securities filing on Monday.

GPA will continue to operate the stores under lease agreements of 15 years, with the exception of 3 stores that will be run by the company for 18 years, according to the filing.

The operation is part of the company's plan to reduce its financial debt through 2023 and 2024, while reinforcing its capital structure.

($1 = 4.7772 reais)

(Reporting by Carolina Pulice and Peter Frontini; Editing by David Alire Garcia)