In a briefing yesterday, SMIC chief finance officer Jose Sio said SMIC will be acquiring 100 percent of the shares of Supervalue Inc. (SM Supermarkets) and 81 percent of the outstanding shares of Super Shopping Markets Inc. (Super SM Hypermarkets).

Sio explained that they will directly acquire only 81 percent of the Hypermarket business since the remaining 19 percent is held by Supervalue Inc.

Sio said they are still finetuning the valuation for the shares and waiting for regulatory approval for the share swap to be effective. The firm is also negotiating with minority shareholders, the former owners of United Supermarket, to secure their approval for the sale.

He said given the usual time it takes to secure the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Philippine Stock Exchange and government agencies, they expect the deal to be completed by January to February next year.

The acquisition includes 25 SM Supermarkets (10 in Metro Manila and 15 in provinces) and 5 Super SM Hypermarkets (3 in Metro Manila and 2 in provinces) as well as the 3 supermarkets and 4 Hypermarkets set to open next year.

Sio said the acquisition will benefit SMIC since it will lead to a gain of at least 5 percent in earnings per share. He added that this is seen to grow further as they expand the retail business.

He noted that the two retail chains are dominant players in the supermarket and hypermarket business and will contribute to operational efficiencies with existing retail operations as well as revenue and cashflow synergies.

SMIC president Harley Sy said they will open four to six Hypermarkets next year in Pangasinan, Muntinlupa, Taytay, Tarlac, SM North Edsa and in the Mall of Asia.

He explained that a Hypermarket is a relatively new concept they started two years ago. A hypermarket is 50 percent supermarket and 50 percent department store and caters to areas that are too small to house both a department store and supermarket.