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A customer exits a Lawson Inc. convenience store in Tokyo, Japan, on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2020.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | getty images
Shares of Lawson, Japan’s third-largest convenience store chain, rose 18% after it received an offer to be taken private.
Under the offer, conglomerate Mitsubishi and mobile carrier KDDI will jointly manage the convenience store chain, with each holding a 50% stake.
KDDI plans to buy 10,360 yen ($70.07) per share from other shareholders in April, a process expected to be completed around September.
This represents a 16% premium to Lawson’s Tuesday closing share price of 8,913 yen, valuing the offer at about 500 billion yen ($3.4 billion).
KDDI currently holds a 2.11% stake in Lawson, while Mitsubishi holds a 50.11% stake.
Mitsubishi said in a press release that Lawson’s stock would be delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange after the deal is completed.
Kyodo News reported that KDDI intends to leverage Lawson’s approximately 14,600 stores nationwide to promote its banking and insurance products, as well as provide smartphone support services remotely at stores.
Separately, KDDI will also offer Lawson’s products and services at its 2,200 mobile phone outlets across the country.
In return, Kyodo also said that Lawson will apply KDDI’s technologies to improve the efficiency of its distribution network and strengthen its store operations during disasters.
