Buy-out funds set to buy 30% in Aditya Birla Retail for $400-500 mn: report

Foreign buy-out funds, including L Capital, Temasek Holdings and International Finance Corp, are in advanced talks to buy a 30-per cent stake in the retail arm of Aditya Birla Group, for about $400-500 million, reports quoting sources.

Aditya Birla Retail includes apparel maker Madura Fashion and Lifestyle,  supermarket chain More and department store chain Pantaloons, in which it acquired a 50-per cent controlling stake in April 2012 (See: Aditya Birla Nuvo to acquire 50% stake in Pantaloon for Rs1,600 crore).

Supermarket More offers a wide range of fresh fruits and vegetables, groceries, personal care, home care, general merchandise and a basic range of apparels. Currently, there are over 490 supermarkets across the country.

Hypermarket More Megastore offers a wide range of products across fruits and vegetables, groceries, FMCG products, with a strong emphasis on general merchandise, apparels and CDIT.

Currently, 14 hypermarkets operate under the brand More Megastore in Hyderabad, New Delhi, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.

More Megastore is expanding its portfolio by launching in-house apparel and footwear brands.

Pantaloons Fashion and Retail Limited is an Indian premium clothing retail chain while Madhura Fashion and Lifestyle is a leader in the branded garments segment in India and has made distinct forays into the Indian apparel and lifestyle sector.

Aditya Birla Retail Limited currently has an employee strength of around 10,000 people.

''The talks are quite advanced and are in the final lap,'' the report said quoting one of the sources.

Aditya Birla Group will use the funds to expand its retail operations, the report added, declining to name it source as the talks are still private, the report added.

The $40 billion Aditya Birla Group ventured into food and grocery retail sectors in 2007 with the acquisition of a south-based supermarket chain. Subsequently, Aditya Birla Retail Ltd expanded its presence across the country under the brand `More', with two formats ? Supermarket and Hypermarket.