US retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc will take full ownership of its Japan unit Seiyu Ltd, Wal-Mart said yesterday.
Seiyu Ltd, now 50.9 percent owned by Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, has posted losses for five straight years and is expected to see more red ink this year.
Japanese media reported earlier that the move was aimed at speeding up management changes and reversing the company's lagging business here.
PHOTO: AP
Since entering the Japan market in 2002, Wal-Mart has been gradually raising its stake in Seiyu, which has some 400 stores nationwide.
Wal-Mart has stuck with the Seiyu brand, familiar to Japanese, instead of using the Wal-Mart name.
The offer is being made with the endorsement of the Seiyu board of directors, which passed a resolution of support yesterday, Wal-Mart said in a release.
The tender offer price was ?140 (US$1.23) per common share, the company said, representing an additional investment by Wal-Mart of up to ?100 billion yen (US$875 million).
"Today's announcement is a reaffirmation of our commitment to Japan, the second-largest economy in the world," Wal-Mart vice chairman Mike Duke said.
"The Japanese retail market is of major strategic importance to Wal-Mart and our goal is to achieve long-term success and growth in Japan," he said.
The tender offer is to commence today and remain open 30 business days, closing on Dec. 4. Wal-Mart's minimum objective through the tender offer is to achieve ownership of at least two thirds of Seiyu's common shares, it said.
Following a successful tender offer, Wal-Mart intends to take additional steps to acquire all the remaining shares, which would result in the delisting of Seiyu from the Tokyo bourse, it said.
Wal-Mart's earnings for this year have faltered because of slowing consumer spending in the US and abroad, but third quarter profits are expected to be better, because of better cost controls at its US stores.
Aside from Seiyu, Wal-Mart has also made significant investments in Japan, the world's second-largest retail market after the US, setting up a distribution facility, introducing its computerized systems, remodeling stores and opening large-scale supermarkets, which had been relatively rare in the past.
But Seiyu has continued to struggle amid intense competition from smaller retail chains, as well as from major local companies that are introducing Wal-Mart-style large-scale stores and price-cutting into Japanese retail.
Trade in Seiyu shares on the TSE was suspended early yesterday following news reports of the impending deal.
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a