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US online retail giant Amazon.com’s investment arm Amazon.com NV Investment Holdings LLC joined hands with private equity firm Samara Capital and sought approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to acquire Aditya Birla Group’s supermarket chain More, according to a Business Standard report.
Witzig Advisory Services is wholly owned by Samara Capital and it struck a deal last month to acquire 99.99 percent of Aditya Birla Retail Limited (ABRL). Now, Amazon.com’s investment arm plans to acquire 49 percent stake in Witzig, while 51 percent will remain with Samara.
Majority promoter entity of ABRL, RKN Retail, will sell all of its 62.2 percent stake, while another promoter Kanishtha Finance Investment will sell the rest of the stake. RKN Retail announced the deal in its filings on September 19.
More is the fourth-largest supermarket chain in India, following Reliance Retail, Future Group and D-Mart. It has 523 supermarkets and 20 hypermarkets. Sources revealed that the deal values More chain at Rs 42 billion. ABRL reported a loss of Rs 4.9 billion in FY18.
Following this deal, Amazon will be a major player in India’s supermarket network, as it plans to build its food retail business. The company is also planning to launch new grocery products and kitchen supplies.
Soon after India allowed 100 percent FDI in food retail, Amazon committed to investing $500 million in this sector.
An Amazon spokesperson told Reuters that the company wants to enhance its services portfolio and meaningfully invest in opportunities for job creation.
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