Walmart Plans To Buy 49 Percent Of Retail Holding Company Cedar Support In India

Walmart Stores Inc. said it will buy a 49 percent stake in Cedar Support Service, the holding company for India-based multi-brand retailer Bharti Retail. Expected to be completed by September 2013, the Rs 455.8 crore deal will make the U.S. retailer the first foreign company to invest in India's retail sector. Walmart plans to convert compulsory convertible debentures it bought in March 2010 into 42.6 crore equity shares. This will help Cedar Support Service add equity into Bharti Retail, which plans to increase its retail stores from the current 228 branches to 638 branches by December 2018, with 104 retail stores set to be opened by December 2013.