S.Africa's Pick n Pay ups stake in Zimbabwe chain

A shopper is seen at a branch of South African retailer Pick n Pay in Johannesburg October 20, 2010.

HARARE- Zimbabwe's competition regulator approved Pick n Pay plans to raise its stake in that country's biggest grocery merchant, a $13 million deal that forms part of the South African food retailer's expansion plans across the continent.
Under the deal, Cape Town-based Pick n Pay would raise its shareholding in TM Supermarkets from 25 percent to 49 percent, TM Supermarkets parent company Meikles Limited said in a statement on Friday.
The investment had been approved mid-year by Zimbabwe's central bank and empowerment ministry but the Competition and Tariff Commission was yet to give its nod.
Zimbabwe's government is pressing foreign-owned companies, including mines and banks, to transfer at least 51 percent shares to blacks under an empowerment programme that has caused unease among foreign investors.
Some of the stores of TM Supermarkets - Zimbabwe's largest grocery retailer - would be rebranded Pick n Pay under the deal.
Cape Town-based Pick n Pay is pulling out of Australia to focus on expansion closer to home and fend off competition from U.S. retailer Wal-Mart, which recently bought control of South African merchant Massmart