Wal-Mart has joined the race to buy out Indonesian retailer Matahari’s hypermarket business, Reuters has reported.

The move is part of a push by the US-based company to establish trade in developing markets in Asia and Africa, as sales at home continue to languish.

The company is also currently bidding on South African retailer Massmart.

Matahari is selling Hypermart, Indonesia’s second-biggest hypermarket chain after PT Carrefour Indonesia, to focus on its core healthcare and property assests, reported Reuters.

One banker told the news agency he expects the deal to fetch between US$800m to US$1bn.

Wal-Mart is expected to compete with Korea’s Lotte Shopping and private equity fund Carlyle Group, in bidding.

The auction provides an opportunity to buy out funds and global and regional retailers, to establish a foothold in Indonesia, where consumer spending is expected to rise along with strong economic growth.

Interest in Indonesia’s retail sector is high at present with Carrefour announcing this Friday as a deadline for the sale of its South East Asian assets.

Aeon, one of Japan’s largest retailers, and private equity group Navis Capital, are likely to submit second round bids for the Carrefour assets, sources previously told Reuters.


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