Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's biggest retailer, agreed to buy a 35 percent stake in Bounteous Co., which owns 101 Trust-Mart retail stores in China.
Wal-Mart plans to acquire ownership control of Trust-Mart, subject to certain conditions, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based company said in a statement said, without giving financial details. A person familiar with the transaction said Oct. 17 that it planned to acquire the Chinese retailer for about $1 billion.
``Through this investment in Trust-Mart we have the opportunity to expand our presence in China, one of the world's fastest growing retail markets,'' Wal-Mart Vice Chairman Michael Duke said in today's statement, released through the PRNewswire. ``This is an important step in bringing additional scale to our China retail business.''
Expansion in the world's fourth-largest economy may counteract slowing U.S. sales and bolster revenue at Wal-Mart. The retailer's overseas ambitions were thwarted by its withdrawal from Germany and South Korea last year, and after Japan's Aeon Co. won exclusive rights to acquire the supermarket company Daiei Inc. last October.
Trust-Mart, a closely held chain of grocery and appliance stores with more than 31,000 employees, will continue to operate under the Trust-Mart banner, according to today's statement.
source:www.bloomberg.com
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