Wumart Stores raising cash for stores
Wumart Stores Inc, Beijing’s largest supermarket chain, would cumulatively raise about 1.65 billion Hong Kong dollars (around 200 million U.S. dollars) from strategic investors to open new stores and make acquisitions, reported Thursday’s China Daily.
According to the company’s stock exchange filing, TPG Asia V LP will buy 930 million Hong Kong dollars of Wumart’s Hong Kong-listed stock and a unit of Chinese private equity firm Hony Capital LP will buy 170 million Hong Kong dollars of shares. These strategic investors’ shares would account for 10.9 percent of the company’s total shareholding equity.
Hony is part of Legend Holdings Ltd, parent of PC maker Lenovo Group Ltd. TPG Asia V LP had invested in Legend Holdings Ltd in 2005.
The price of the deal was set at 10.5 Hong Kong dollars per share.
The Wumart stock rose 4.4 percent to 11.96 Hong Kong dollars on Wednesday. Wumart’s shares in Hong Kong have more than doubled this year, compared with a 42 percent gain of the benchmark Hang Seng Index.
The company said Hony and Legend also agreed to pay 485 million yuan for unlisted domestic Wumart shares. Wumart plans to seek a listing in Shanghai or Shenzhen within three years.
Founded in 1994, Wumart now had about 424 stores in Beijing, Tianjin and Zhejiang. It had a nearly 33 percent market share in Beijing and plans to open at least 10 hypermarkets, 40 convenience stores and mini-marts in the country this year.
Tags: Retail