Retail in Asia

In Sectors

Lotte to acquire Buy the Way for USD236m

Lotte Group, the operator of 7-Eleven outlets in South Korea, has agreed to acquire convenience-store chain Buy the Way from private-equity fund Unitas Capital for KRW274 billion (USD236 million).

Korea Seven Co., more than 50-percent owned by Lotte Shopping Co., said in a regulatory filing today that the acquisition will "strengthen business competence."

Korea Seven will increase its stores by 68 percent as it gains a chain that generated revenue of about KRW610 billion last year in Asia’s fourth largest economy. Retail sales growth in South Korea, where store operators are buying rivals to expand, accelerated to 12.2 percent in November, the fastest in more than a year.