Cencosud S.A. (OTCBB: CSUDF), a publicly traded Chilean retailer
with market capitalization of US$5.3 billion, announced today it has
reached an agreement to acquire a 24.52% in Almacenes Exito S.A. from
the company's founding family, the Toro Family, for approximately $273
million in cash or a price per share of COP$12,500. Almacenes Exito, a
publicly traded company in the Colombian Stock Exchange, is the
largest retailer in Colombia with $1.7 billion in sales and US$136
million in EBITDA for the 12 months ending on June 30, 2006. Earlier
this year, Almacenes Exito announced the acquisition of the country's
second largest retailer, Carulla Vivero, and such acquisition is
pending regulatory approval.
The completion of the Cencosud transaction is subject to the
exercise of a right of first of offer contemplated in the
shareholders' agreement between the Toro Family and the other major
shareholders in the Company, which are France-based Casino Guichard
Perrachon (39% stakeholder), leading Colombian economic group Grupo
Empresarial Antioqueno (11% stakeholder) and the prominent local Mejia
Family (5% stakeholder). In the event such shareholders do not
exercise their right, Cencosud will complete the acquisition of the
24.52% stake through the Colombian Stock Exchange within the next 180
days.
"In the event that we are successful in acquiring the Toro
Family's stake, Almacenes Exito will provide us with a unique
opportunity to enter the high-growth Colombian retail market. We are
confident that our retail knowhow and experience combined with
Colombia's increased political and economic stability, underscored by
the forthcoming FTA between Chile and Colombia, lends itself to an
exciting story for growth and profitability going forward", said
Laurence Golborne, CEO of Cencosud S.A.
This transaction represents the largest single investment by a
Chilean corporation in Colombia, and it underscores a recent trend of
increased strategic interest from major Chilean companies in
Colombia's burgeoning consumer market.
"The Toro Family has ended a 56-year cycle in Almacenes Exito. We
are proud of what our family has built and we are confident that
Almacenes Exito will benefit from having such a highly-reputed company
like Cencosud as a new shareholder", said Jose Restrepo in
representation of the members of the Toro Family.
New York-based Athelera LLC acted as exclusive financial advisor
to the Toro Family and Bogota-based Torrado Angarita & Pinzon acted as
Counsel for the Toro Family.
About Cencosud S.A.
Cencosud is a leading multi-format retailer in Chile and
Argentina. Through its supermarket, home improvement, department
stores, shopping centers and financial services divisions, the Company
targets a wide range of customers with the right combinations of
products, prices and quality, designed to meet their growing demands.
As of June 30th 2006, the Company operates 30 Jumbo hypermarkets, 103
Santa Isabel supermarkets, 2 Las Brisas Supermarkets, 235 supermarkets
under the brand names Disco, Plaza Vea, Super Vea and Mini Sol, 47
Easy home improvement stores, 22 Paris department stores, 19 shopping
centers and 48 Banco Paris branch offices.
About Almacenes Exito S.A.
Almacenes Exito is Colombia's largest retailer. As of June 30,
2006, the company operates 31 EXITO stores (hypermarket format), 55
Ley stores (supermarket format), 10 POMONA stores (high-end format)
and 2 Q'precios stores (discount format) in the country's
34 municipalities, totaling over 330 thousand square meters of sales
area. The company serves over 140 million clients every year.
