Advent International, a US private equity firm, has announced it has finalised the 80% buyout of Walmart Brazil it announced in June of this year.
For a decade, Brazil been the focus of expansion for Walmart, but the unit has stumbled in recent years as operational issues have compounded the effects of a deep recession, leading the Bentonville-based retailer to offload its underperforming operations in Brazil and refocus on markets like China and India.
Though the value of the transaction is still undisclosed, Walmart has said it would record a non-cash charge of roughly $4.5 billion related to the deal in the second quarter. Walmart still holds a 20% stake in the Advent-owned Walmart Brazil.
About Advent International
Advent has been operating in Brazil since 1997 and the fund has invested in 30 Brazilian companies from various sectors. It has been active in the retail segment worldwide for 28 years and has completed 75 investments in 22 countries.
There are currently 438 Walmart stores in 18 states across Brazil, with 55,000 employees. Last year, the company's turnover amounted to R$25 billion (€5,740 billion).
In the last quarter, Walmart also announced its plans to sell its Japanese banner, Seiyu Supermarket and bought a stake in Flipkart from Japanese giant Softbank.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Matthieu Chassain. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
