Marka to buy Retailcorp
Retail and hospitality group Marka will buy a sporting goods retail firm from state-owned conglomerate Dubai World for $60 million, in a move that will make it operationally profitable in 2015.
The acquisition of Retailcorp, a subsidiary of Dubai World’s investment unit Istithmar World, will be funded by the Marka’s own funds and bank facilities. The deal will give Marka a network of 15 sporting goods outlets across the UAE, and Marka aims to expand the chain across the country and the region.
Dubai World, which signed a $25 billion debt restructuring agreement in 2011 after it was hit hard by the global financial crisis, has gradually been selling off assets to help it meet the terms of the restructuring.