Miniso Group Holding will acquire 29.4 per cent of Yonghui Superstores from various shareholders for RMB6.3 billion (US$893.3 million).
Miniso, through its PRC subsidiary Guangdong Juncai International Trading, entered into share purchase agreements with DFI Retail Group subsidiary The Dairy Farm Company and JD.com subsidiaries Beijing Jingdong Century Trade and Suqian Hanbang Investment Management.
The transaction will result in Miniso becoming the largest single shareholder of the supermarket chain.
Under the agreements, Guangdong Juncai will pay each seller RMB2.35 per share, representing a 3.1 per cent premium to the closing price of Yonghui’s shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on September 20.
Shares of Miniso Group Holding plunged as much as 39.2 per cent to HK$20 ($2.57) on Tuesday after the deal was announced.
The lifestyle products retailer’s shares dived to the lowest since December 2022, on track for the biggest one-day percentage drop since its debut in July 2022, and was the top percentage loser on the Hong Kong bourse. Reuters reported that compared to a 2.1 per cent rise in the benchmark Hang Seng Index.
Yonghui has logged three years of net losses, reflecting the mounting costs of closing unprofitable stores.
Guofu Ye, the Miniso chairman and CEO, said that acquiring the shares would allow his company to expand its access to the essential goods sector.
“With our support and leveraging our expertise in design-led products, Yonghui will be poised to develop higher-quality self-branded products to cater to evolving consumer needs,” said Ye.
“Furthermore, I believe that our collaboration with Yonghui in retail channel upgrade and supply chain will enable us to share resources to further enhance economies of scale, optimise the cost structure and create value for consumers.”
Miniso’s newest flagship store – which opened early this month in downtown Jakarta – is among the first to include a range of snackfoods, all sourced from local suppliers, as the novelty retailer looks to expand into other categories, with blind boxes being another.
DFI Retail Group will receive US$637 million for its stake, funds CEO Scott Price said would support the company’s plans to expand its other businesses in Mainland China, which remains a significant market for the company.
“We are proud to serve millions of customers through Mannings China and 7-Eleven, and we have ambitious plans to increase the number of 7-Eleven stores in Guangdong Province in the coming years,” said Price.
The deal is subject to Miniso shareholder approval and applicable regulatory conditions, including antitrust approval.
