Future Group, Bharti to merge retail business

04 May '15

2 min read

A massive retail entity will now mark its presence in the country’s economy with the Kishore Biyani owned Future Retail and Bharti group's Bharti Retail deciding to merge with each other .

The merger will happen in two ways. The retail business of Future Retail will be demerged into Bharti Retail and the retail infrastructure business of Bharti will be demerged into Future Retail, according to a statement by Future Retail.

The first entity, to be known as Future Retail Limited post the demerger, will host the retail operations of both the entities. The second entity, to be known as Future Enterprises post he demerger will host the infrastructure, investments and assets of both the companies.

Kishore Biyani, Founder and Group CEO, Future Group said, “Bharti Retail’s strengths and network compliment perfectly with that of Future Retail. It will bring us closer to millions of consumers and provide new opportunities for our supply partners. The operational efficiencies that can be derived from the merger will create significant value for our shareholders.”

The Future group has three main entities, Future Retail that runs hypermarkets and supermarkets, Future Lifestyle Fashions, and Future Consumer Enterprise. Bharti Retail runs 15 Easyday hypermarkets and 200 supermarkets.

The combined entity will have 570 retail stores in 243 cities with operational retail space of over 18.5 million square feet. It will operate 203 Big Bazar and ‘easyday’ hypermarkets , 197 Food Bazar and ‘easyday’ supermarkets and 171 other stores comprising Home Town, eZone, FBB and Foodhall.

Rajan Bharti Mittal, vice chairman, Bharti Enterprises said, “We are delighted to announce this partnership, which brings together the strengths of the two companies and provides a strong platform for future growth. Retail is emerging as the next big growth engine for India and we will be well positioned to be a major player in this growth story.” (SH)

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