Walmart Inc WMT is doubling down on its Africa foray despite the problems compounded by economic uncertainty and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The retail giant purchased a majority stake inSouth African retailer Massmart in 2011.
Massmart, Reuters reported, has been making consistent losses and is loaded with debts.
But unlike Walmart’s escape after failures in Britain and Germany, it aims to speed up its actions in Africa.
The strategy is to build Massmart competitive enough for its brick and mortar rivals and win the battle of African e-commerce against Amazon.Com, IncAMZN.
De-listing Massmart is likely to allow Walmart to make direct capital injections and resist more losses without pressure from Massmart shareholders.
In August, Walmart launched a 6.4 billion rand ($350 million) bid for the 47% of Massmart shares it does not already own, valuing it at a premium of over 50%.
Walmart is also likely to focus on Massmart’s two better-performing brands Makro and hardware chain Builders.
Price Action: WMT shares closed higher by 0.25% at $134.09 on Thursday.
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