KKR and Rakuten to Acquire an 85% Stake in Seiyu
Posted on 11/16/2020
Private equity firm KKR, through its Asia private equity fund, and Japanese e-commerce major Rakuten together are buying an 85% ownership stake of Seiyu, the Japanese supermarket chain owned by U.S. retail giant Walmart. KKR will hold 65% of Seiyu’s business, while Rakuten is to have 20% ownership. Walmart will hold on to the rest. The three companies agreed to value the business at 172.5 billion JPY (US$ 1.6 billion) for the deal.
Seiyu operates more than 300 stores in Japan. Walmart acquired a 6% stake in Seiyu in 2002 and made Seiyu a wholly-owned subsidiary in 2008. Walmart faced tough competition from Japanese discount and drugstores. Walmart was contemplating relisting Seiyu in 2019. Rakuten currently has an online venture with Seiyu.
