Aeon Co. announced Wednesday it will increase its stake in Daiei Inc. to turn the smaller superstore chain into a subsidiary, creating a massive retailing group that will have combined sales in excess of ¥6 trillion.
Aeon, which owns a 19.9 percent stake in Daiei, plans to acquire a further 24.3 percent of the shares from major trading house Marubeni Corp., which has a 29.3 percent stake, in a takeover bid early next month, Aeon President Motoya Okada said at a Tokyo news conference attended by Daiei President Michio Kuwahara.
Aeon aims to take control of Daiei, which has numerous outlets in major cities in the Kanto and Kansai regions, to broaden its customer base and reinforce operations in big urban centers.