Reliance Industries Limited on Thursday said that it had acquired the 259-year-old British toy retailer Hamleys through its Reliance Brands subsidiary. This is the first time the Mukesh Ambani-owned company has acquired an overseas retail brand, Reuters reported.
Reliance already owns the master franchise to operate the 88 Hamleys stores in 29 Indian cities. Worldwide, the company has 167 stores in 18 countries.
In a stock exchange filing, Reliance said it had signed an agreement to buy 100% shares of Hamleys Global Holdings Limited for a cash consideration of £67.96 million (nearly Rs 620 crore). The company was owned by Chinese fashion wear brand C Banner, which bought Hamleys for £100 million (Rs 909 crore at current exchange rate) from France’s Groupe Ludendo in 2015.
“The worldwide acquisition of the iconic Hamleys brand and business places Reliance into the frontline of global retail,” said Darshan Mehta, chief executive of Reliance Brands.
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