Wal-Mart eyes African retail market

Wal-Mart eyes African retail market    Wal-Mart Stores Inc. last week said it made a non-binding cash offer of $4.3 billion for South African retailer and distributor Massmart as part of its international expansion.
   Johannesburg-based Massmart is a major distributor of consumer goods on the African continent and the largest retailer of general merchandise, home improvement equipment, supplies and food basics. It operates 290 stores in 13 countries, with the vast majority of them in South Africa.
   Wal-Mart is expected to use its supply chain expertise and technology to make Massmart more efficient.
      Wal-Mart operates on its own, or through joint ventures, in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua and the United Kingdom.
   It pulled out of Germany and South Korea because of challenges unique to those markets.