TOKYO: Japanese convenience store chain FamilyMart Co – which has a presence in Malaysia, too – said on Wednesday it had received a proposal from Itochu Corp that the trading house would buy its shares through a tender offer, in a deal one newspaper said could be worth up to US$5.6 bil (RM23.94 bil).
The Nikkei business daily reported earlier that Itochu, which owns just over 50% of FamilyMart, planned to buy the rest of the company to make it a wholly-owned unit.
The deal will allow Itochu to strengthen FamilyMart’s product procurement including from overseas while leveraging its retail data, the newspaper said.
FamilyMart said in a statement that Itochu’s offer proposal was under discussion at a board meeting on Wednesday and it would make a prompt disclosure when ready.
An Itochu representative was not able to comment immediately.
FamilyMart is one of Japan’s top convenience stores. Although retailers in the world’s third-largest economy have been hit hard by the coronavirus crisis, convenience stores have avoided some of the worst of the damage – given their locations in residential areas and customers’ need for daily items.
Itochu owns 50.36% of FamilyMart as of end-February, according to a recent filing by the convenience store chain. – July 8, 2020, Reuters
