Wumei seals majority stake in B&Q China

Beijing based supermarket chain Wumei Holdings will pay CNY1.4 billion (USD225 million) for a majority stake in home decorating chain B&Q China whose parent Kingfisher failed to spur growth in the home decoration market in the world’s second-largest economy.

The all-cash takeover will be subject to approval from China’s Ministry of Commerce, and is set to complete in the first half of 2015, Kingfisher said in a statement yesterday.

Xu Zhicheng, an analyst with Guotai Junan Securities, said Wumei could leverage its overall data management system and dealers’ network within the country to boost B&Q’s performance.