Uni-President Group (統一集團) members Uni-President Enterprises Corp (統一企業) and President Chain Store Corp (統一超商) are seeking to take full ownership of Carrefour Taiwan (家樂福) by acquiring the remaining 60 percent stake held by the hypermarket’s French parent company.
At a news conference late on Tuesday, Uni-President Enterprises chief financial officer Chen Kuo-hui (陳國輝) said his company would spend NT$23.9 billion (US$799.4 million) to acquire a 49.5 percent stake in Carrefour Taiwan, while President Chain Store would invest NT$5.1 billion for a 10.5 percent stake, to add to the 40 percent the two companies currently hold.
The NT$29 billion offer would translate into an acquisition price of about NT$65 per share, Uni-President Group said.
Photo: CNA
After the deal, Uni-President Enterprises would hold a 70 percent stake in Carrefour Taiwan, while President Chain Store would own the remaining 30 percent, Chen said.
The two companies would file an application with the Fair Trade Commission for regulatory approval in 15 days, he said.
The transaction is expected to be completed in the middle of next year should the deal gain approval from the commission, which last week conditionally approved an NT$11.5 billion takeover by PX Mart Co (全聯實業) of hypermarket operator RT-Mart International Ltd (大潤發), a rival of Carrefour Taiwan.
Carrefour Taiwan’s 68 hypermarkets, 272 supermarkets and 129 Carrefour-owned stores would then be fully owned by the Uni-President Group, which would also retain the Carrefour brand rights in Taiwan.
In addition, the Taiwanese conglomerate would gain full rights to the property assets — logistics centers and some hypermarket stores — currently owned by the joint venture.
Uni-President Group is the largest convenience store operator in Taiwan through ownership of 6,503 7-Eleven outlets, and also runs Cosmed (康是美) health and beauty stores and Uni-Ustyle department stores (統一時代百貨) in the country.
Local data showed that revenue generated by the local hypermarket industry totaled NT$228.7 billion in 2020, with Costco Wholesale Taiwan Ltd (台灣好市多) holding a leading 42.8 percent share of the market, ahead of Carrefour Taiwan’s 32.3 percent, RT-Mart’s 11.7 percent and Far Eastern A-Mart Co’s (遠東愛買) 4.6 percent.
The acquisition is expected to help Uni-President Group cement its lead in Taiwan’s retail industry, said Wu Shih-hao (吳師豪), a professor at National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology’s marketing and distribution department.
It would give the conglomerate a comprehensive retail network in Taiwan with holdings in several distribution channels, Wu said.
Add this to its existing virtual distribution network, the conglomerate is all set to meet demand from a wide range of customers, he said.
After the transaction, France’s Carrefour SA is to withdraw from Taiwan’s retail market as part of its move to exit the Asian market.
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