Mexico's Alsea cleared to buy Walmex's Vips

Mexican restaurant operator Alsea said it received regulatory approval to purchase retailer Walmex's Vips restaurant chain, with the deal set to be finalized in the coming days.

Alsea, which runs Domino's Pizza, Starbucks and Burger King franchises in Mexico, agreed to buy Walmex's 361 restaurants in September for $630.85 million.

The transaction had been held up by Mexico's competition watchdog, which made the deal conditional on Alsea providing information about exclusivity agreements with the malls in which it operates, and eliminating 54 exclusive clauses in contracts with malls.

Source: Reuters