Trent rallies over 6% as Tesco completes establishment of a 50:50 JV

NEW DELHI: Trent rallied as much as 6.1 per cent in a weak market on Thursday, after the Tata Group Company said that Tesco has completed the establishment of a 50:50 joint venture with Trent.

The joint venture company, Trent Hypermarket Ltd (THL), operates the Star Bazaar retail business in India," Tesco said in a filing late Tuesday. This makes it the first foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail since the rules regarding this were relaxed.

At 11:00 a.m.; Trent was trading 4.3 per cent higher at Rs 1097. It hit a low of Rs 1060 and a high of Rs 1116 in trade today.

The latest development comes days after the Tesco-Trent alliance received the final nod for a joint venture from the Competition Commission of India, ET reported.

Prior to approaching CCI, Trent Hypermarket had transferred four stores in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu--two states where FDI in supermarkets is barred--to subsidiary Fiora Hypermarket to comply with rules.

A person with direct knowledge of the situation said Tesco had made the $90 million investment for a 50 per cent stake in Trent Hypermarket, which operates 12 Star Bazaar hypermarkets, added the ET report.