Home Depot eyes stake in China
Home Depot, the world’s biggest do-it-yourself chain, is in talks to buy a stake in Orient Home, one of China’s largest home improvement groups, it emerged last night. The US company is believed to be considering the acquisition of up to 49 per cent of the chain, which is owned by the China’s Orient Group, for more than $200 million (£115 million). The purchase would help Home Depot to crack the Chinese DIY market, estimated to be worth $50 billion a year.
B&Q, the DIY chain owned by Kingfisher, the UK group, has 22 stores in China.
Mavinwood deal
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Mavinwood, the AIM-listed support services company, spent £11.2 million to acquire Wansdyke Security, a privately owned security storage company that owns one million square feet of underground stores near Bath. Allied Irish Banks provided most of the funding for the deal, which takes Mavinwood’s net debt to £16 million.
MoT firm sold
Phoenix Equity Partners has bought Nationwide Auto Centres, Britain’s biggest provider of MoTs, from its management team and the National Bank of Greece for £47 million. The private equity firm has appointed Duncan Wilkes, a former RAC executive, as the chief executive of the 220-strong chain.