Posted at 1:52 p.m., Thursday, December 8, 2005
Japanese discount retailer buys Hawai'i Daiei stores
By Mari Murayama
Bloomberg News
Don Quijote Co.'s purchase of the Daiei units in Hawai'i will be its first overseas expansion.
Don Quijote on Feb. 8 will acquire Dai'ei (USA) Inc., which operates four general merchandise outlets in Hawai'i, and wholesaler Oriental Seafoods Inc.
Tokyo-based Don Quijote and Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture-based Daiei announced the transaction in separate statements distributed today at the Tokyo Stock Exchange. They did not announce the value of the sale.
Daiei, which is undergoing government-led reorganization, said it will sell the units to concentrate its management resources on its core businesses. The company will take a $12.5 million charge from the sale, which it said will have no impact on its earnings outlook.
Dai'ei (USA) had $155.6 million sales in the year ended January this year, while Oriental Seafoods generated $7.93 million in the same period.
