Lotte Shopping buys Chinese supermarket operator

SEOUL, Oct. 19 (Yonhap) -- Lotte Shopping Co., South Korea's largest department
store chain, has agreed to take over the Chinese supermarket operator Times for
up to 735 billion won (US$630 million) as part of its efforts to strengthen its
grip on the world's quickly growing retail market, industry sources said Monday.
Lotte closed a deal with Times the same day to buy a 72.3 percent stake in the
Chinese company, worth 532 billion won, and is in the process of obtaining a
permit on the deal from financial authorities in Hong Kong. Times has been listed
on the Hong Kong bourse.
The South Korean retailer also plans to make a tender offer to minority
shareholders to secure the rest of the Chinese retailer, an official at Lotte
Shopping said on condition of anonymity.
Established in 1997, Times currently operates a total of 65 outlets, mostly in
eastern China, including 12 supermarkets.
As one of the top Chinese retailers, Times' sales and net profit stood at 860
billion won and 27 billion won, respectively, last year.
The deal, which brought the number of Lotte's domestic and overseas outlets to
148, helped Lotte top the list of South Korean retailers in terms of the number
of shops operating in South Korea and abroad.
Lotte, South Korea's biggest retailer by market value after Shinsegae Co., has
revved up its expansion in China with the acquisition of Dutch wholesaler Makro's
Chinese stores in 2007 and its Indonesian stores last year.
Lotte will push ahead with a plan to secure its 100th overseas outlet within the
coming year, the Lotte official said.
"We have prepared the deal for the past year in a bid to gain an edge over other
foreign rivals in China, where global retailers are engaging in cutthroat
competition," he added.
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