Moulin in talks to buy retail stores

Moulin International Holdings said it is in talks with two or three acquisition targets to beef up its retail operation in the mainland and expects to seal a deal in three months. Moulin wants to buy retail stores in second-tier cities outside Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

The company gave no further details of the target companies but said it was still in the mood for acquisitions after it lost a bidding war for Cole National of the United States to Luxottica Group.

The acquisition battle cost Moulin about US$4-5 million, which lowered its 2004 first-half earnings by 27.6 per cent to HK$60.19 million. Shares of Moulin came under heavy selling pressure due to poor interim results announced on Friday, plunging 6.59 per cent to close at HK$4.25 on Monday.

Moulin plans to spin off its two-year-old start-up Shanghai Moulin International for a separate listing in the long term, chief executive Cary Ma said. The mainland unit posted about HK$127 million revenue, of which HK$80 million was generated by distribution and HK$47 million from retail sales, in the first six months of this year.

Moulin plans to open up to five new stores in Shanghai this year and a research and development facility in Shenzhen.

(Source: The Standard)