TORONTO, Feb. 16, 2018 /PRNewswire/ – Yamaguchi Laurentian Securities a global wealth management company has reported that Chinese giant ‎Alibaba had reportedly held early discussions to acquire Kroger, the ‎largest supermarket chain in the United States‏.‏

The deal, if approved, will give Alibaba a rising star in the highly ‎competitive field of groceries into North America. Its rival Amazon has strengthened its hold in this ‎sector, particularly with several brands currently operating under its ‎belt.

“Alibaba’s high-profile acquisitions are likely to continue to drive ‎earnings in the coming quarters, given the company’s wide ‎margins over the long run, due to which the its operating leverage will ‎remain high,” according to analysts at Yamaguchi Laurentian Securities.

Yamaguchi Laurentian Securities research and analysis team has highlighted that recent media speculation about the deal is no certainty that Alibaba will prevail in the ‎auction or that Kroger will agree to sell itself to any party.

However, the bid ‎itself is just another sign of the enormous financial success that Alibaba has ‎enjoyed amid China’s e-commerce boom, already the world’s largest. ‎

Edward Matthews who is the Director of Corporate Equities at Yamaguchi Laurentian Securities said that “Alibaba’s impressive performance and the company’s forays into multiple will help retain positive sentiment this year.”

Notably, Alibaba has outperformed the industry it belongs to across several segments, with recent acquisitions further fueling growth. In the most recent quarter, ‎the ‎company’s revenues advanced 61%, compared with ‎major rival Amazon which reported a 36 percent revenue increase for the Q4 2017.‎

Alibaba is no stranger to acquisitions in the food retailing sector. The Chinese ‎conglomerate had already started to invest in retailers’ chains as far back as 2015, and most recently ‎it announced acquisition of a minor stake in the Hong Kong top hypermarket ‎operator Sun Art Retail Group.‎

Even on the domestic front, ‎the deal was in-line with the company’s aim to expand its traditional retail presence, which saw its first foray into the apace at home through ‎the buyout of China’s ‎Hema supermarket chain.

SOURCE Yamaguchi Laurentian Securities