Wholesaler Asko has agreed to acquire 17% of the shares in Mandarinen Import & Engros AS (MIE) and 51% in Mandarinen Oslo AS (MO).
Mandarinen is a Norway-based specialty wholesaler, supplying Asian food and consumer goods, as well as related equipment to the catering market.
The company supplies Asian products to NorgesGruppen's cash-and-carry concept Storcash and wholesale format Gigaboks.
The deal will also see NorgesGruppen transferring its 34% ownership stake in MIE to Asko Norge, making the latter the majority owner with 51% in both companies.
The sellers in the transaction are Chan Holding AS, owned by Jimmy Chan, who will retain 49% of the shares in MIE and 39% of the shares in MO, as well as VL Invest AS, owned by Vegard Lefdal, who will retain 10% of the shares in MO.
Completion of the deal is subject to approval from the Norwegian Competition Authority, Asko noted.
Jimmy Chan, founder of Mandarinen, commented, "I am approaching retirement age, and after many years of good cooperation with NorgesGruppen and Asko, I wanted to further develop Mandarinen in an even closer collaboration."
A 'Strategic Opportunity'
Asko Norge considers this increased ownership as a strategic opportunity to develop a quality Asian range for the catering market, in addition to ensuring stable deliveries of Asian products to Storcash and Gigaboks.
"Asko Norge sees great potential in this agreement. By increasing our ownership in Mandarinen, we strengthen our position as a supplier to the catering market, while safeguarding important collaborative relationships and ensuring the quality of our deliveries," stated André Tangerud, director of Asko Servering.
Last year, Asko adopted the new generation of Scania's BEV Regional electric trucks to facilitate emission-free deliveries and contributing to its commitment to green transport.
