2 December 2004 – Tokyo (JPN): The Wall Street Journal has reported that Wal-Mart, along with two Japanese retailers, has placed a bid to buy Carrefour’s Japanese operations for more than $300 million, in an attempt to crack the Japanese hypermarket space.
The report says the other competing bidders, which also value the business at more than $300 million, were leading Japanese retailer Aeon and smaller Osaka-based retailer Izumiya. The bidders have so far declined to comment.
Last week, Carrefour, the world’s second largest retailer by sales after Wal-Mart, denied reports that it was ready to pull out of Japan.
