Giant deal: Malaysian company to acquire Cold Storage and Giant supermarket chains in Singapore

All Cold Storage and Giant supermarket outlets in Singapore will be sold to Malaysian retail group, Macrovalue, in an acquisition deal worth $125 million.
The Singapore-listed DFI Retail Group, which currently owns Cold Storage and Giant in Singapore, announced the divestment of their Singapore Food business in a press release on Monday (March 24).
The deal will include all 41 Giant stores, 48 Cold Storage stores — including CS Fresh, CS Gold, Cold Storage and Jason’s Deli — and two distribution centres located in Singapore.
The transaction is expected to be completed in the second half of 2025, according to the press release.
Macrovalue previously acquired all Malaysian outlets of Cold Storage and Giant in 2023 and "is a trusted and familiar partner to DFI".
"In today’s environment of rising food costs and inflation, it is essential to leverage scale and operational efficiencies to protect customers from price volatility while maintaining quality and service standard," said DFI's group chief executive Scott Price.
Streamlining operations with those in Malaysia is also "expected to benefit customers in Singapore with an enhanced product range, more competitive pricing", Price added.
DFI Retail Group said they will subsequently be pivoting their focus to expanding growth in their Guardian and 7-Eleven businesses.
"These businesses hold significant potential for growth, and our dedicated teams in Singapore are working hard to ensure that we continue to meet and exceed the expectations of our customers in the years ahead," said Price.
He also added that the new direction is a step in delivering long-term value to shareholders.
DFI reported their earnings for FY2024 earlier in March, with "Singapore Food turning profitable in the fourth quarter of 2024".
This was partly because they closed some Giant and Cold Storage stores in areas where the brands were no longer relevant and reopened them in locations with higher sales potential, reported The Straits Times earlier this month.
The group recorded an underlying profit of US$201 million (S$268.9 million) for the 12 months to Dec 31, 2024, and paid a final dividend of US$0.07 per share.
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