French retail giant Carrefour does have concrete plans to withdraw from Taiwan, despite earlier denials. Its controlling stake in its Taiwanese branch would go to the current minority shareholder, Uni-President.
Polexit
Last year there were already some rumours about the divestment of the Taiwanese branch (and the Polish one), but the French chain still denied that. Now, according to Bloomberg, there are advanced talks about a departure from the Asian republic.
“People familiar with the matter” point to Uni-President as the most likely candidate to take over Carrefour’s controlling share of some 60 %. Still, it is by no means a done deal yet: serious obstacles such as financing and cartel legislation still need to be overcome, Bloomberg reports.
Other candidates
The same sources did report that if all goes well, progress can be expected in the coming weeks. If everything does not go well, on the other hand, there are a few important other candidates who lie in waiting: major investors like Carlyle and CVC.
The Taiwanese branch of Carrefour, which has gradually expanded to a chain of more than 320 branches since 1989, is estimated to be worth about two billion dollars. Right from the start, it has been a joint venture in which Uni-President is the minority shareholder.
