Massmart

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South African firm

title: "Massmart" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["companies-based-in-sandton", "retail-companies-of-south-africa", "1990-establishments-in-south-africa", "retail-companies-established-in-1990", "companies-listed-on-the-johannesburg-stock-exchange", "walmart", "2011-mergers-and-acquisitions", "south-african-companies-established-in-1990", "south-african-subsidiaries-of-foreign-companies"] description: "South African firm" topic_path: "geography/south-africa" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massmart" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary South African firm ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox company"]

Field	Value
name	Massmart Holdings Limited
logo	Massmart.png
logo_size	225px
type	Private Subsidiary
traded_as
fate	Acquired by Walmart
foundation
founder	Mark Lamberti
defunct
location_city	Sandton
location_country	South Africa
locations	411 (31 October 2022)
area_served	Sub-Saharan Africa
industry	Retail
products	Food, Liquor, General merchandise, Home Improvement
revenue	R91.564 billion (2016)
operating_income	R2.603 billion (2016)
net_income	R1.322 billion (2016)
assets	R31.883 billion (2016)
equity	R6.183 billion (2016)
num_employees	45,000+ (2015)
parent	Walmart (2011–present)
divisions	Massdiscounters, Masswarehouse, Masscash, Massmart
subsid	Makro
Game
Builders Warehouse
CBW
homepage
::

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

The company has been owned by Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer Walmart since 2011.

History

Massmart was founded in 1990, beginning with the acquisition of six Makro stores. 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. 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

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Cape_Town_30_Jan_2012_019.JPG" caption="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)
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). 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). South Africa's Competition Tribunal gave its approval of the acquisition of 51% of the firm in May 2011.{{cite web| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13601247|title=Wal-Mart Cleared To Buy South Africa's Massmart|access-date=12 February 2015| date=31 May 2011|work=BBC News}} Shortly thereafter, in June 2011, Walmart completed the purchase of 51% of the company's stock.{{cite web| url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2011/06/10/wal-mart-takes-on-africa-with-massmart/|title=Wal-Mart Takes on Africa With Massmart|date=10 June 2011|accessdate=12 February 2015|work=Forbes.com}}

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.

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

Major shareholders

Below is the group's largest shareholders as at December 2016:

::data[format=table]

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

(20 February 2014). "Imperial taps Massmart founder as CEO". Fin24.com.
"South Africa - at a glance".
(31 December 2016). "Massmart Annual Results 2016".
(2014). "Overview of Massmart". Massmart.co.za.
"Walmart Investor Relations - Financials Investor Relations > Financials".
(2021-07-12). "Stores Close Across South Africa as Violent Riots Intensify". Bloomberg.com.
Smith, Nicky. (29 November 2010). "Wal-Mart Offers 16.5 Billion Rand for 51% of Massmart". [[Bloomberg News]].
(17 January 2011). "South African Retailer Massmart Backs Sale To Wal-Mart". [[BBC News]].
Anathi Madubela. (17 November 2022). "Behind Massmart's JSE exit". mg.co.za.
(29 Aug 2022). "Walmart takes Massmart private to revive South African business". Business Tech.
(12 February 2015). "Nairobi's Garden City Mall To Open Doors in May". [[Business Daily Africa]] (Nairobi).
Smith, Nicky. (29 November 2010). "Wal-Mart Offers 16.5 Billion Rand for 51% of Massmart". [[Bloomberg News]].
Tiisetso Motsoeneng, and Wendell Roelf. (9 March 2012). "Wal-Mart Wins Final Go-Ahead for Massmart Deal". [[Reuters]].
Dludla, Nqobile. (August 29, 2022). "Walmart makes offer to buy out rest of S.African retailer Massmart".
Wexler, Alexandra. (September 11, 2023). "Walmart Goes All In on Africa".
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

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