Wal-Mart buying minority stake in Chinese online retailer

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores is buying a minority stake in online company Yihaodian, which sells groceries, consumer electronics, clothing and other items. Terms of the deal and the size of the stake were not disclosed.



The deal will help expand the Wal-Mart’s reach into China, where it has 328 stores (as of Dec. 31, 2010).



"Online sales in China are growing rapidly and are projected to match U.S. online sales in the next few years. By investing in Yihaodian, we're continuing to establish a presence in this important e-commerce market, and are moving forward on fulfilling our aspiration of being the leading global multichannel retailer," Eduardo Castro-Wright, vice chairman of Wal-Mart Stores and CEO of Walmart Global eCommerce and Global Sourcing, said in a statement.



The deal is expected to close within 60 days.