Japan’s major telecom carrier KDDI is planning to raise its stake in Lawson to 50% to jointly run the convenience chain with an aim to take advantage of Lawson’s nationwide retail store network and customer base while offering technology to transform the business model, the two firms said Tuesday.
KDDI currently holds 2.1% of Lawson shares but will invest about ¥500 billion ($3.4 billion) to increase its stake through a tender offer that will likely start around April and finish in September. If the deal is realized, KDDI will be managing Lawson with trading house Mitsubishi Corp., which now holds 50.1% of Lawson stake, and will take the convenience chain private.
“We believe convenience stores are critical social infrastructure. By fully integrating our communication and digital transformation technologies … we hope to provide new values and services to customers,” said KDDI President Makoto Takahashi during a joint news conference with Mitsubishi and Lawson.
