Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Inc., which holds a majority investment in Massmart, has proposed to buy the rest of the company’s shares for $79.93 million.
Walmart offered R62 per Massmart share.
Related: Walmart.com attracted people with more money who wanted to buy food.
In 2010, the company bought 51% of Massmart. Over the past 10 years, Walmart has had to help Massmart’s companies more and more because people stopped buying gadgets and home goods.
Massmart’s management proposed a rescue strategy in 2019 that included selling non-core businesses, eliminating fresh food from game locations, and slashing costs.
Massmart said that the COVID-19 pandemic, civil unrest in 2021, floods, and slow customer demand for general products have slowed down the turnaround plan.
If finalised, the deal will provide Massmart with continued financial and operational support from Walmart, the company said.
Related: Walmart will charge some providers new fees for gas and pick-up.
If the offer is accepted, Massmart would be delisted.
The retailer, with 403 retail and wholesale locations in 13 African nations, reported a headline loss of 903.5 million Rand ($53.18 million) in the 26 weeks ending June 26.
