Robinsons buys Rustan’s supermarket, Shopwise

Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. is acquiring Rustan’s Supercenters Inc., the Manila food retailer of Dairy Farm International Holdings Ltd. in a deal valued at P18 billion ($343.6 million) through a share swap.

The deal aims to create a leading food retailer in the Philippines, among the fastest growing economies in the world owing to strong consumer spending, Robinsons Retail said in a stock exchange disclosure yesterday.

Robinsons Retail said its board approved the acquisition of Mulgrave Corp. BV’s 100 percent stake in Rustan’s Supercenters Inc. Mulgrave is a subsidiary of Dairy Farm International Holdings, ABS-CBN News reported.

Rustan’s Supercenters Inc. operates Marketplace by Rustan’s, Rustan’s Supermarket, Shopwise Hypermarket, Shopwise Express and Wellcome.

In exchange, Dairy Farm will own 18.25 percent of Robinsons Retail. Dairy Farm is the Asian retail arm of conglomerate Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd.

“Leveraging the combined strengths of Robinsons Retail and Rustan’s will lead to benefits to customers in terms of even better service, quality and value,” the company said.

Robinsons Retail, owned by the Gokongweis, the country’s second richest family, operates more than 3,400 supermarkets, department stores, convenience stores, pharmacy and specialty stores.

Rustan’s owns five food retail brands in the Philippines.