Massmart

Massmart Holdings Limited

Company type	Private Subsidiary
Traded as	JSE: MSM
Industry	Retail
Founded	1990;35 years ago (1990)
Founder	Mark Lamberti [1]
Fate	Acquired by Walmart
Headquarters	Sandton , South Africa
Number of locations	411 (31 October 2022) [2]
Area served	Sub-Saharan Africa
Products	Food, Liquor, General merchandise, Home Improvement
Revenue	R91.564 billion (2016) [3] : 40
Operating income	R2.603 billion (2016) [3] : 40
Net income	R1.322 billion (2016) [3] : 40
Total assets	R31.883 billion (2016) [3] : 43
Total equity	R6.183 billion (2016) [3] : 43
Number of employees	45,000+ (2015)
Parent	Walmart (2011–present)
Divisions	Massdiscounters, Masswarehouse, Masscash, Massmart
Subsidiaries	Makro Game Builders Warehouse CBW
Website	www.massmart.co.za

Massmart Holdings Limited is a South African company that owns and operates major local retail chains including Game, Makro, Builders Warehouse, and CBW. It is the second-largest distributor of consumer goods in Africa, the largest retailer of general merchandise, liquor and home improvement equipment and wholesaler of basic foods. ^[4]

As of 31 October 2022, Massmart operated 411 stores in South Africa and 12 other Sub-Saharan countries. ^[5] Its head offices are in the Massmart House in Sunninghill, Johannesburg. ^[6]

The company has been owned by Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer Walmart since 2011. ^{[7] [8]}

History

Massmart was founded in 1990, beginning with the acquisition of six Makro stores. ^[9] It was listed on the JSE Limited on 4 July 2000 at R12.50 per share until it was taken private by Walmart in 2022. ^[10] Since its founding, Massmart has grown both organically and by acquisition. The firm acquisition history includes:

• 378 Shield members in March 1992
• 20 Dion stores in May 1993
• 14 CCW stores in June 1998
• 26 Game stores in July 1998
• 6 Jumbo stores in April 2001
• 22 Browns and Weirs stores in July 2002
• 8 Builders Warehouse stores in February 2003
• 3 De Lay Rey stores, 14 Servistar stores, and 34 Federated Timber stores in June 2005
• 6 Cambridge Food stores in December 2008
• 3 Buildrite stores in June 2009
• Fruitspot (wholesaler of fresh fruits and vegetables) was acquired in January 2012
• Rhino Cash & Carry Group in March 2012

Divisions

A Makro store in Milnerton, Cape Town.

Massmart's stores are organized into 4 divisions. The stores included in each division are as follows:

• Massdiscounters
  • DionWired (Has been reported that the store has closed operation in South Africa)
  • Game (operates in South Africa, Botswana, Ghana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Kenya - beginning May 2015 ^[11] )

• Masswarehouse
  • Makro (operates in South Africa, two stores in Zimbabwe were sold in fiscal year 2011)
  • The Fruitspot (operates in South Africa)
• Massbuild
  • Builders Warehouse (operates in South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique, and Zambia)
  • Builders Express (operates in South Africa)
  • Builders Trade Depot (operates in South Africa and Mozambique)
  • Builders Superstore (operates in South Africa)
  • Kangela (operates in Mozambique)
• Masscash
  • CBW (operates in South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, and Eswatini)
  • Jumbo Cash and Carry (operates in South Africa and Botswana)
  • Trident (operates in Botswana)
  • Cambridge Food (operates in South Africa)
  • Shield (operates in South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, and Eswatini)

Walmart acquisition

In November 2010, Walmart made a bid to acquire majority shareholding (51%), in Massmart. At that time, the offer was valued at approximately R17 billion (approximately US$2.54 billion or £1.54 billion). ^{[12] [8]} On 18 January 2011, Massmart shareholders voted in favour of Walmart's offer of R148 per share (approximately $8 per share or £6.50 per share). ^[8] South Africa's Competition Tribunal gave its approval of the acquisition of 51% of the firm in May 2011. ^[13] Shortly thereafter, in June 2011, Walmart completed the purchase of 51% of the company's stock. ^[14]

In August the South African ministries of trade and industry, economic development and agriculture and fisheries lodged an appeal to the decision of the Competition Tribunal's decision to allow the merger with minimal conditions, this follows an appeal filed earlier by SACCAWU, a local labor union. In March 2012 the appeals court dismissed the case by the governmental ministries, but acknowledged that there were legitimate concerns about the effect of the deal on small producers and employment. The appeals court decision effectively put an end to the legal challenges to the merger. ^[15]

In August 2022, Walmart made an offer to acquire the remaining non-controlling shares of Massmart, ^[16] and by the end of November the scheme had been finalized and closed, making Massmart a wholly owned subsidiary of Walmart. ^{[17] [18]}

Major shareholders

Below is the group's largest shareholders as at December 2016: ^{[3] : 25}

Majority shareholders	December 2016 (%)	December 2022 (%)
Walmart	52.4	100.0
Aberdeen Asset Management	21.3	0.0
Public Investment Corporation	5.6	0.0
Others	20.7	0.0

References

1. "Imperial taps Massmart founder as CEO". Fin24.com. Reuters. 20 February 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
2. "South Africa - at a glance". stock.walmart.com. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
3. "Massmart Annual Results 2016" (PDF). 31 December 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
4. "Overview of Massmart". Massmart.co.za. 2014. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
5. "Walmart Investor Relations - Financials Investor Relations > Financials". stock.walmart.com. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
6. "Stores Close Across South Africa as Violent Riots Intensify". Bloomberg.com. 12 July 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
7. Smith, Nicky (29 November 2010). "Wal-Mart Offers 16.5 Billion Rand for 51% of Massmart". Bloomberg News . Retrieved 12 February 2015.
8. "South African Retailer Massmart Backs Sale To Wal-Mart". BBC News . 17 January 2011. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
9. Anathi Madubela (17 November 2022). "Behind Massmart's JSE exit". mg.co.za.
10. "Walmart takes Massmart private to revive South African business". Business Tech. 29 August 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
11. "Nairobi's Garden City Mall To Open Doors in May". Business Daily Africa (Nairobi). 12 February 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
12. Smith, Nicky (29 November 2010). "Wal-Mart Offers 16.5 Billion Rand for 51% of Massmart". Bloomberg News . Retrieved 12 February 2015.
13. "Wal-Mart Cleared To Buy South Africa's Massmart". BBC News . 31 May 2011. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
14. "Wal-Mart Takes on Africa With Massmart". Forbes.com . 10 June 2011. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
15. Tiisetso Motsoeneng, and Wendell Roelf (9 March 2012). "Wal-Mart Wins Final Go-Ahead for Massmart Deal". Reuters . Retrieved 12 February 2015.
16. Dludla, Nqobile (29 August 2022). "Walmart makes offer to buy out rest of S.African retailer Massmart". Reuters. Archived from the original on 29 August 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
17. Wexler, Alexandra (11 September 2023). "Walmart Goes All In on Africa". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 11 September 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
18. https://www.listcorp.com/jse/msm/massmart-holdings-limited/news/finalisation-announcement-in-respect-of-the-scheme-of-arrangement-between-massmart-and-its-shareholders-2794292.html

External links

• Official website