Itochu, Uny to form capital tieup

Itochu Corp. and supermarket chain Uny Co. said Thursday they agreed to form a capital tieup to enhance their retail businesses in Japan and abroad, including China.

Under the agreement, the major trading house will buy about 3 percent of Uny's outstanding shares by the end of March. The move will effectively make Itochu its top shareholder, sources said.

The two firms said they plan to expand the scope of their existing operational alliance formed in 2006 to boost overseas businesses and improve efficiency in product procurement and development.

Itochu, which owns FamilyMart Co., and Uny, which runs Circle K Sunkus Co., are likely to coordinate on their convenience store businesses, particularly in China, where consumption continues to rise.

Uny hopes to cooperate with Itochu in such areas as merchandise procurement and distribution to improve the efficiency of its business management, while Itochu aims to form a distribution group that follows leaders Seven & I Holdings Co. and Aeon Co.

Uny fell into the red for the half-year period to August, posting a group net loss of ¥2.64 billion, compared with a net profit of ¥4.50 billion a year earlier, due to slumping clothing sales.