Wal-Mart's push for a foothold in east Africa have hit a hurdle after Kenyan retailer Naivas said on Wednesday it was no longer selling a controlling stake to the U.S. company's South African subsidiary, Massmart.Strong economic growth in Africa is attracting global retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc, which acquired Massmart in a $2.4 billion deal two years ago. Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to grow by 4.9 percent this year after 4.2 percent in 2012, the World Bank said.Naivas chairman Simon Mukuha had said in August they were looking to sell a majority stake, 50 percent plus one share, to Massmart, to bring in fresh blood and ideas."We are fattening our cow. As and when we are ready we will do that (sell) but as it is now we are not," Gilbert Mwangi, the administration manager at Naivas, told Reuters.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (Walmart) operates retail stores in various formats around globally. Shares of WMT traded higher by 0.61% or $0.4533/share to $74.82. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $67.37 and as high as $79.96. On average, 6096850 shares of WMT exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 272006.
Source
