Wal-Mart confirms Daiei interest
Retail giant offers lifeline to Japanese retailer
Wal-Mart has confirmed its interest in putting together a rescue package that would see it take a stake in Japanese retailer Daiei.
A Wal-Mart spokesperson said the world’s largest retailer had confirmed its interest and is assessing potential investment opportunities in Daiei.
[img r]daieilogo.jpg[/img]Wal-Mart’s international division chief executive John Menzer has visited the state-run Industrial Revitalization Corporation of Japan (IRCJ). Japanese press reports said Menzer discussed a possible Wal-Mart/IRCJ investment package.
Shares in Daiei, which has been struggling with poor sales for some time, have soared since Wal-Mart’s possible interest first became known earlier this week. However, there is also known to be interest in the business, which is Japan’s third biggest retail chain, from several private equity funds.
Wal-Mart entered the Japanese market in 2002 by taking a stake in retail group Seiyu. It now owns more than a third of that business and has option to increase its stake to at least 66.7 per cent by 2007.
