Korean retailer Lotte Shopping Co has offered about US$630m for Chinese hypermarket firm Times Ltd for a 100 per cent state in the company, a move that could see Lotte gain significant access to the growing Chinese retail sector.
Times is one of China’s leading supermarket and hypermarket operators, and has an established chain of 53 hypermarkets and 12 supermarkets in the country’s eastern region, reported Reuters.
The offer off HK$5.575 per share is 20 per cent higher than Times’ previously traded stock price.
“On average, it costs about 10 billion won (US$8.57m) to set up a discount retail store in China,” Chung Yon-woo, an analyst at Daishin Securities, told Reuters. “With Times, Lotte is taking over 65…and given that it will also be enjoying Times’ established brand, the deal’s pricing, while not cheap, seems reasonable.”
Lotte beat a bid by fellow Chinese retail chain Wumart of around US$600m, and the company also recently announced it will invest US$633m in its Hong Kong operations.
Lotte is Korea’s second-largest retail chain.
No comments yet