(Yicai) Aug. 12 -- Suning.Com has agreed to pay CNY220 million (USD30.6 million) to settle a long-standing dispute over its acquisition of French hypermarket chain Carrefour’s stores in China in a deal that will leave the Chinese retailer indirectly owning all of Carrefour China.

The settlement, which Nanjing-based Suning announced late yesterday, resolves the dispute arising from its 2019 acquisition of an 80 percent stake in Carrefour China for CNY4.8 billion (USD668 million).

That agreement included a clause requiring Suning International to buy the remaining 20 percent at a fixed price, if Carrefour chose to sell, with Suning providing a CNY1.2 billion guarantee for its unit to fulfill the obligation. A subsequent deal was reached in 2022 to buy the rest in installments.

Suning and Suning International still owed Carrefour China CNY1 billion for about 16.7 percent, plus related arbitration fees and interest. At the same time, Carrefour China and its consultancy firm were owed intellectual property fees of EUR7.4 million (USD8.6 million), plus related arbitration fees and interest.

Under the settlement announced, Carrefour China will waive the debts and will no longer pursue legal proceedings against Suning. Carrefour China and the consultancy firm must stop using the Carrefour IP within a month of signing the deal, Suning also noted.

Suning’s shares [SHE: 002024], which are traded under special treatment, closed 1.6 percent higher at CNY1.93 (27 US cents) apiece in Shenzhen today.

The settlement has been approved by Suning’s board, but still needs to be submitted to shareholders for approval, which, along with cross-regional legal implementation, still poses uncertainties, the retailer noted. Suning will finance the deal with its own finds and bank loans.

The settlement will ease the debt pressure on Suning, likely bringing around CNY1.1 billion from debt restructuring, helping the company focus on its core businesses, including home appliances and 3C (computers, communications, and consumer) goods, it said.

Editor: Martin Kadiev