【英文原文】
LOTTE SHOPPING IN TALKS TO BUY CHINESE CHAIN
Lotte Shopping, South Korea's second-largest retailer, is in talks to buy a controlling stake in Times, the Chinese supermarket operator, to expand its presence in the world's fastest-growing major economy.
Lotte's move will rival a $600m bid from Chinese retailer Wumart Stores for the Chinese supermarket chain, and comes after Times invited a number of potential bidders to review the company's operations.
“We are reviewing opportunities to expand in China through mergers and acquisitions and buying Times could be one of the options,” said a Lotte spokesman.
He declined to give any details, adding that no decision has been made yet.
【中文译文】
韩国第二大零售商乐天百货公司(Lotte Shopping)正进行谈判，拟收购中国超市运营商时代零售集团(Times)的控股权，以此拓展其中国业务。中国是全球增长最快的主要经济体。
乐天百货将与出价6亿美元的中国零售商物美商业集团(Wumart Stores)争夺时代零售，时代零售已邀请多家潜在竞购者评估其业务。
“我们正评估通过并购在中国扩张的机会，收购时代零售将可能是选择之一，”乐天百货的一位发言人表示。
他拒绝透露任何细节，并补充称，目前尚未作出任何决定。
【英文原文】
But media reports said Lotte was considering buying a 72.3 per cent stake in the Chinese retailer from Kenneth Fang, chairman, for more than Won600bn ($513m).
The Hong Kong tycoon reportedly began to consider selling the stake in April and hired HSBC Holdings to advise on the sale.
The deal could be the biggest acquisition in China by a Korean company, according to Bloomberg.
Lotte is the third-largest supermarket chain in South Korea, with 55 outlets or a 15 per cent domestic market share, trailing Shinsegae's E-mart and Tesco's Home-Plus.
The retailer has been trying hard to expand its footprints in emerging markets such as China, Russia and south-east Asia.
“Buying Times will help Lotte increase scale in China, which is critical in such a competitive market. Building a franchise takes a long time and it is also difficult [for Lotte to do] on its own,” said Han Kook-hee, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities.
【中文译文】
但有媒体报道称，乐天百货正考虑出资逾6000亿韩元（合5.13亿美元），从时代零售主席方铿(Kenneth Fang)手中收购该公司72.3%的股份。
据报道，香港大亨方铿4月份就开始考虑售股，并已聘请汇丰控股(HSBC Holdings)担任售股交易顾问。
据彭博社(Bloomberg)报道,此次交易将可能成为韩国企业在中国最大一宗收购案。
乐天是韩国第三大超市连锁店运营商，拥有55家门店，占据韩国国内市场15%的份额，仅次于新世界百货(Shinsegae)旗下的易买得(E-Mart)和特易购(Tesco)旗下的Home-plus。
这家零售商一直努力在中国、俄罗斯和东南亚等新兴市场进行扩张。
“购买时代零售将有助于乐天百货扩大在华业务规模。在中国这样一个竞争激烈的市场，规模至关重要。建设自己的门店需要很长时间，而且(乐天)也很难独立去做，”未来资产证券(Mirae Asset Securities)分析师Han Kook-hee表示。