Move reaffirms Wal-Mart commitment to Japanese market
22 Oct '07
3 min read
Following a successful tender offer, Wal-Mart intends to take additional steps to acquire all of the remaining shares, which would result in the delisting of Seiyu shares from the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Seiyu and Wal-Mart entered into an alliance in May 2002. Wal-Mart became the majority owner of Seiyu at the end of 2005, and has since committed substantial resources with the aim of improving Seiyu's corporate value.
Both Seiyu and Wal-Mart now believe that it is in both companies' best interests for Seiyu to become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wal-Mart, to ensure that Seiyu can benefit most fully from Wal-Mart's support.
"As a wholly-owned subsidiary, Seiyu will have increased flexibility to invest in merchandising, store renovation, distribution and logistics," said Duke.
"Our Japanese associates will benefit from these steps to enhance the company's performance. In addition, this provides reassurance to our business partners and increases confidence in Seiyu's strength and future prospects.
Duke added, "Wal-Mart's mission of saving people money so they can live better means that Seiyu can leverage Wal-Mart's global ability to offer great value and pass those benefits on to our customers in Japan."
marketing@alchempro.com
