Aeon to fully acquire Aeon Mall in share exchange

Aeon Co., Ltd. (TSE: 8267) and Aeon Mall Co., Ltd. (TSE: 8905) have announced they have signed a memorandum of understanding to begin discussions for Aeon to acquire all outstanding shares of Aeon Mall, making it a wholly owned subsidiary through a share exchange. The strategic move seeks to bolster Aeon Mall's competitiveness amid a challenging retail landscape, including demographic shifts, rising construction costs, and e-commerce growth, by leveraging the resources and scalability of the larger Aeon Group. Aeon aims to increase the overall corporate value, integrate demand, increase efficiency and create new sources of revenue. The boards of both Aeon and Aeon Mall have approved this arrangement with steps to ensure the fairness of the transaction. The agreement has unanimous consent from all disinterested directors and an opinion from all disinterested audit/supervisory board members. If all goes to plan, Aeon intends to take Aeon Mall private by July 2025.