Walmart sells majority stake in Seiyu, nearly exiting Japan

(FILES) In this file photo taken on August 18, 2020 A Walmart logo is seen outside a store in Washington, DC. - Walmart plans to remove guns and ammunition from its sales floors in the US following unrest in Philadelphia this week, a spokeswoman said on October 29. (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM / AFP)

TOKYO: Walmart Inc is selling a majority stake in Japanese supermarket chain Seiyu to investment firm KKR and e-commerce company Rakuten for over $1 billion, after years of struggling to make money amid stiff competition.

The deal, which values Seiyu at 172.5 billion yen ($1.65 billion), comes after on-off speculation about the U.S. retail giant looking to exit Japan. It is well below the 300-500 billion yen it reportedly sought a few years ago.