Ambani’s Reliance to acquire Metro’s India unit for $344 million

Bloomberg

Reliance Industries Ltd agreed to buy Metro AG’s Indian unit for 28.5 billion rupees ($344 million) as the nation’s biggest retailer run by billionaire Mukesh Ambani further expands his footprint.
Metro will see a transaction gain of about €150 million at closing, and higher earnings per share are anticipated, the company said in a statement. The transaction with Reliance Retail Ventures is expected to close by March 2023. Parent Reliance Industries’ stock rose as much as 0.9% during trading in Mumbai, pushing this year’s gain to 9.4%.
With India’s trade industry seeing consolidation and disproportionate growth, a sizeable investment would have been needed to further grow the business, Steffen Greubel, Metro’s chief executive officer, said in the statement. “Now is the right time to use the momentum and open a new chapter for Metro India,” Greubel said.
The transaction brings to an end a months-long sale process that had once drawn interest from e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc and Thailand’s Charoen Pokphand Group Co. Adding Metro’s so-called cash-and-carry business will bolster Reliance, which is India’s largest brick-and-mortar retailer.