The Haney Group is advising clients on Hutchison Whampoa as a bidding war looms for the company’s flagship supermarket chain.

Hong Kong -- (ReleaseWire) -- 09/17/2013 --The Haney Group a boutique equity research and management firm based in Hong Kong founded by a diverse private wealth consortium of financial professionals, with a combined knowledge of the stock markets, tax legislation, legal compliance and market analysis. Priding themselves in giving the very best service to their institutional investors, high net worth individuals and private investors today released a statement advising clients with concerns in Hong Kong’s retail sector.

The ParknShop supermarket chain in Hong Kong, the territories second largest has become the focus of a heated bidding war, as Billionaire Li Ka Shing’s Hutchison Whalpoa Ltd appears ready to sell the highly profitable retail chain. Estimates for the price of the sale continue to edge higher to around $4 billion as more prospective buyers enter the fray.

The supermarket chain boasts a total of 345 outlets, with 270 of these located in Hong Kong comprising 33 percent of the territories market and generating $2.8 billion in revenues for 2012. ParknShop along with its larger rival the Wellcome chain operated by Singaporean owned Dairy Farm International Holdings Ltd make up 77 percent of the Hong Kong supermarket sector, with their next largest competitor the CR Vanguard chain owned by China Resources having only a 7.8 percent market share.

“To say that this is an exciting opportunity would be an understatement, Hong Kong’s supermarket business is cash rich and highly profitable one, but the vast majority of that business is controlled by just three companies. With the sale of ParknShop, it’s the first chance for many to get a significant stake in the market, so it is of no surprise the amount of money that’s being put on the table to make this substantial acquisition,” announced David Roberts, the Senior Vice President of Mergers and Acquisitions at The Haney Group.

Key frontrunners for any successful bid for ParknShop include retailing giants Woolworths Ltd, Sun Art Retail Group Ltd, Wesfarmers Ltd and the recent J.V partnership comprising China Resources Ltd and Tesco Plc. Many sources agree that the one month old China Resources, Tesco partnership should be given heavy consideration due to its cash rich financial health and the outcome that should their bid be successful they will surpass Wellcome as HK’s largest supermarket chain. Hutchison Whalpoa’s shares continue to trend up buoyed by interest in the sale giving the company a ROI of 33.56 percent for the year so far.

“We are not ruling anything out in this situation and we will be following the developments closely. That said however the bottom line is Hutchison Whalpoa wants money in the short term for other acquisitions and the China Resources, Tesco partnership has both money and a very clear desire to grow rapidly in the Hong Kong market. We are also quite confident that the final price of this sale will edge up further and that gives a distinct advantage to China Resources in making a successful bid. Ultimately it is a good deal for both sides, especially their shareholders,” added David Roberts, the Senior Vice President of Mergers and Acquisitions at The Haney Group.