Japanese retail giant Trial Holdings has agreed a deal to acquire supermarket chain Seiyu from private equity major KKR in a deal valued at JPY382.6bn ($2.55bn). The transaction will see Trial take full ownership of Seiyu.
Trial will finance the acquisition through a combination of existing cash reserves and newly arranged bank borrowings, according to a statement from the company.
KKR initially acquired a 65% stake in Seiyu from Walmart in 2021, later expanding its holding to 85% by purchasing an additional 20% stake from Rakuten in 2023. As part of the latest deal, Walmart will sell its remaining 15% stake to Trial, fully exiting the Japanese supermarket chain, KKR confirmed in a separate release.
Trial’s acquisition of Seiyu follows a competitive bidding process that reportedly included Japanese retail giants Aeon and Pan Pacific International Holdings, the parent company of Don Quijote, according to the Nikkei newspaper.
