Walmart sells majority stake in Japanese supermarket chain Seiyu
US retail giant Walmart has sold its majority stake in Japanese grocery chain Seiyu for $1.6bn, continuing its retreat from international markets.
Walmart completed the sale of 85% of its stake in Seiyu to private equity group KKR and Japanese ecommerce giant Rakuten, with the American retailer set to retain 15% of the remaining shares.
KKR will become the majority shareholder, having bought 65% of Walmart’s stake, with Rakuten taking 20% of Seiyu, which operates more than 300 supermarkets across Japan and employs more than 35,000 people.
In a statement on the deal, Walmart said it expected to incur a non-cash loss of around $2bn in its fourth quarter as a result of the disposal.
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