Aeon buys rival Inageya to create Japan’s largest supermarket group

Retail giant Aeon will raise its stakeholding in Japanese supermarket chain Inageya from 17 percent to over 50 percent, making Inageya its subsidiary.

The merger would strengthen Aeon’s presence in the Tokyo metropolitan area, where Inageya has about 270 stores.

The Japanese group aims to make digital-related investments and procurement of goods more cost-effective through the stake increase.

The value of the acquisition has yet to be disclosed.

Upon the transaction’s completion next year, Inageya is expected to be delisted.

Aeon will make additional investments in a few years to make Inageya a subsidiary of United Super Markets Holdings, which owns Kasumi Co., Maruetsu Inc, and MaxValu Kanto Co.

Inageya was founded as a fresh fish merchant in Tokyo in 1900 before becoming the city’s major supermarket chain.