ParknShop receives nine bids

Walmart not among them.

ParknShop, which has been put up for sale by its owner, A S Watson & Company, has received nine offers for the supermarket chain, Hong Kong’s second largest.

Media reports said the offers came from TPG Group and KKR & Company; local retailer China Resources Enterprise Ltd; Japan's Aeon Company and Lotte Group; Australia's Woolworths Ltd and Wesfarmers Ltd and Sun Art Retail Group Ltd, China's biggest hypermarket chain.

A S Watson is seeking around US$3 billion to US$4 billion from the sale of ParknShop.

ParknShop is the market-leading food retailer in Hong Kong with significant market position in Macau and South China. It is the second-largest grocery store chain in Hong Kong with a 19% market share. It has 345 stores in Hong Kong, Macau and southern China and had revenues of US$2.8 billion in 2012.