On April 3rd, China's Sanpower Group signed an agreement with House of Fraser, the UK's time-honoured department store chain, in London, to acquire 89% share from the latter.

Founded in 1949, House of Fraser is among the UK's largest retail businesses, owning 60 stores across the nation. The acquisition is China's largest foreign retail investment as yet.

Sanpower Group, whose founder and Chairman is Yuan Yafei, owns IT retail chain Hisap and department store Nanjing Cenbest.

This is the first time China's private enterprise has acquired a British retail brand since 25 years ago, when Hong Kong businessman Dickson Poon bought London's high-end department store Harvey Nichols.

Earlier reports revealed that Sanpower Group had negotiated with House of Fraser over Sanpower's assuming the franchise contractor of the latter in China; while this time Sanpower Group has directly put forward the takeover bid for House of Fraser.

The major shareholders of the 165-year-old House of Fraser wish to achieve the turnaround concerning the high-end retail, and have been trying to find a way out for this old store. On the one hand, they have been looking for buyers, and on the other hand trying to have it re-listed on the London Stock Exchange.

The British store has once negotiated with the famous French department store Galeries Lafayette, which reached a deadlock in this January due to senior personnel changes at the French side.

In addition, it has also resorted to Numis and HSBC to help assess the possibility of re-listing.

Prior to his plunging into business, Yuan Yafei had been a civil servant in the government of Nanjing Yuhuatai District. Sanpower Group, which was founded by him, is currently worth £5 billion, while Forbes estimates Yuan Yafei's personal net wealth at nearly £300 million.

House of Fraser is the middle and top-grade department store in the UK. In spite of once dissatisfying performance, its sales have seen a rebound after the promotion in last year's Christmas season and its significant progress in online shopping. Besides, some recent breakthroughs in its channel diversification strategy have also made it fare way better than traditional retailers.

Therefore, the industry is convinced that Sanpower Group has made a good deal. The 49-year-old wealthy Chinese man has exhibited the gift of a "shrewd customer" although he has only recently come to the UK.