Central Retail Corporation to divest Italian department store business for €250m

Central Retail Corporation (CRC) has agreed to sell its Italian department store business, Rinascente, to its principal shareholder, Harng Central Department Store (HCDS), for €250m (approximately Bt9.38bn).

In a disclosure to the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), the Thai retailer stated that its board approved the acquisition offer from HCDS.

The deal involves the complete transfer of shares in CRC Holland, which operates Rinascente, and the settlement of a shareholder loan amounting to around €141m ($165.8m), inclusive of principal and accrued interest, as of 30 June 2025.

CRC expects to secure net cash proceeds of approximately Bt13bn, post-tax, from the deal.

This sum is earmarked for two primary uses. Around Bt5.29bn from the loan repayment will be channelled towards reducing institutional debt, reinforcing CRC's financial stability.

The remaining Bt7.7bn from the asset sale may be distributed as a special dividend to shareholders, projected at Bt1.28 per share.

This transaction aligns with CRC's strategic pivot, focusing investments on markets with greater growth potential, such as Thailand and Vietnam.

The company indicated that growth prospects in Italy and other parts of Europe are currently subdued.

HCDS intends to merge Rinascente with its other European department store holdings, streamlining them under unified management.

This transaction is reported as both a connected transaction and an asset disposal by CRC.

An extraordinary general meeting of CRC's shareholders is scheduled for 6 November 2025 to vote on the proposed sale, according to Thai publication The Nation.

Avantgarde Capital has been appointed as an independent financial adviser to offer an opinion on the transaction for shareholders.

"Central Retail Corporation to divest Italian department store business for €250m " was originally created and published by Retail Insight Network, a GlobalData owned brand.

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