South African brand Shoprite Holdings Limited has announced it is concluding sale of its Nigerian subsidiaries.
The process for the sale began last year, sending shock waves among the populace who feared job loss amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The board said it decided to formally exit its operations in Nigeria over unfavourable market conditions.
In its latest financial report for December 2020 operations obtained from the company’s website on Tuesday, Shoprite stated that the company was awaiting approval from the Nigerian Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission after lodging the transaction with the commission.
The company said it would shut down operations in the country by disposing a 100 per cent equity stake in its Nigerian retail supermarkets.
According to the company, the management expects the transaction to be approved by the end of the 2021 financial year.
Shoprite added that the management was in the process of concluding a franchise agreement for the Shoprite brand to remain in Nigeria as well as an administration and services agreement to provide support to the new shareholders with operating the outlets.
The company’s CEO Pieter Engelbrecht said: “We are at the approval stage in terms of the sale of our Nigeria supermarket operation. From here, our capital allocated to the region remains at a minimum and we continue to manage costs as best as we can.”
Shoprite workers at Ikeja City Mall, Lagos, Palms Shopping Mall, Ibadan and other locations last week embarked on protest to press home their demands.
