Carrefour SA is in advanced talks to sell a controlling stake in its Taiwanese operations to its local minority partner Uni-President Enterprises Corp (統一企業), people familiar with the matter said.
Uni-President has emerged as the likeliest buyer for 60 percent of the French grocer’s business, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private.
The Taiwanese food conglomerate, which has the right of first refusal for Carrefour’s stake, and the European firm are discussing details of a potential transaction including financing and antitrust, the people said.
Photo: Taipei Times file photo
A deal could even be reached in the next few weeks, they said.
Talks are ongoing, no final decision has been made and other bidders remain interested in the assets, the people said.
Representatives for Carrefour and Uni-President declined to comment.
“We are handling this according to the script,” Uni-President chairman Alex Lo (羅智先) said when asked about a potential deal for the stake during an investors’ briefing on March 11.
“When timing is right, everyone will know,” Lo added.
Carrefour has been exploring a sale of its Taiwan unit in a potential deal that has drawn interest from firms including Carlyle Group Inc, CVC Capital Partners and Taiwanese conglomerate Far Eastern Group (遠東集團), Bloomberg News reported in October last year.
The unit could fetch an enterprise value of at least US$1.9 billion, people familiar with the matter said at the time.
Carrefour set up its first outlet in Taiwan in 1989, two years after establishing a joint venture with Uni-President, its Web site says.
The company has since expanded to more than 320 outlets.
Uni-President and its affiliates own about a 40 percent stake in Carrefour’s Taiwan unit.
From its origins as a flour mill in Tainan, Uni-President has expanded to become one of the largest food conglomerates in Asia, with businesses spanning from dairy and beverages to instant food, baking and logistics, its Web site says.
It also operates 7-Eleven convenience stores in Taiwan, Shanghai and the Philippines.
Carrefour, which has been the subject of takeover activity in the past few years, has been reviewing its global assets. In 2019, it agreed to sell an 80 percent stake in its China unit for US$698 million in cash to local retailer Suning.com Co (蘇寧).
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