Bloomberg Chinese billionaire Zhang Jindong secured a $1.36 billion state-backed bailout for the troubled retail arm of his Suning empire, marking another step in Beijing’s efforts to clean up its heavily indebted conglomerates. A group of investors, led by the Nanjing state asset management committee and the Jiangsu provincial government, will take a 16.96% stake in Suning.com Co, according to ...
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Krispy Kreme jumps in US trading debut
Bloomberg Krispy Kreme Inc’s shares rose in their first day of trading, giving the doughnut chain a much-needed lift a day after it was forced to downsize its initial public offering. The stock reversed an early decline and jumped 24% to $21 a share in New York. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based company, which is owned by investment firm JAB Holdings ...
Read More »Apollo mulls bid for Morrison, heating up takeover battle
Bloomberg Apollo Global Management Inc said on Monday it’s considering an offer for Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc, heating up a takeover battle for the UK grocer. Morrison just agreed over the weekend to a 6.3 billion-pound ($8.7 billion) takeover from a consortium led by Fortress Investment Group. That offer trumped private equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice LLC’s earlier 5.5 ...
Read More »Egypt’s MaxAB plans Gulf, North Africa expansion
Bloomberg An Egyptian e-commerce business linking traditional retailers with suppliers of products such as food and groceries plans to expand in North Africa and the Gulf after an early-stage funding round. Cairo-based MaxAB raised $40 million from RMBV and seven others including the International Finance Corp and Flourish Ventures, according to a statement on Monday. It plans to use the ...
Read More »Brazilian supermarket chain weighs IPO
Bloomberg A Brazilian supermarket chain controlled by L Catterton, the private equity firm backed by French billionaire Bernard Arnault, has chosen banks for a potential initial public offering that could raise as much as 800 million reais ($159 million), people familiar with the matter said. Sao Paulo-based Grupo St Marche is working with Banco Santander Brasil SA, Banco Itau BBA ...
Read More »Fortress to buy Wm Morrison for $8.7b
Bloomberg Fortress Investment Group agreed to buy Wm Morrison Supermarket Plc for about 6.3 billion pounds ($8.7 billion), trumping an earlier bid from Clayton Dubilier & Rice. The all-cash agreement by a group led by Fortress, a SoftBank Group Corp subsidiary, follows the UK supermarket chain’s rejection of CD&R’s 5.5 billion-pound offer last month. It’s the latest in a flurry ...
Read More »Alibaba-led consortium nears deal for Suning.com
Bloomberg A consortium led by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and the Jiangsu provincial government are nearing a deal to buy a stake in the retail arm of Chinese billionaire Zhang Jindong’s Suning empire, according to people familiar with the matter, the latest domino to fall in Beijing’s effort to clean up its heavily indebted conglomerates. The unit, Suning.com Co, could ...
Read More »Calvin Klein supplier eyes Colombo IPO
Bloomberg Apparel maker Hela Clothing plans an initial public offering on the Colombo Stock Exchange within 12 months to raise capital for entry into North Africa and the expansion of its East African operations. The Sri Lanka-based manufacturer for PVH Corp — the parent company of fashion brands Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein — will offload a 20% stake for ...
Read More »Russian grocery-delivery service sets sights on US
Bloomberg Samokat, Russia’s biggest instant grocery-delivery service by orders, is aiming to be the first of its peers to take a share of the booming US market. The founders of the St Petersburg-based company are launching the service, to be called Buyk, in August in New York. They are targeting 10,000 orders a month there by year-end. “We understand that ...
Read More »Ocado co-founder settles with firm over theft claim
Bloomberg British online food retailer Ocado Group Plc has settled its bitter legal fight with one of its co-founders, after he obtained confidential information to help set up a rival business. Ocado sued Jonathan Faiman as well as his business partner Jon Hillary, who also previously worked for the company, and their business Project Today Holdings Ltd for breach of ...
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