The king of US discounters WAL-MART ($32 bn turnover in 2000-01) is to buy successive stakes in SEIYU, the fifth-largest Japanese supermarket chain. WAL-MART will initially pay 6 bn Yen for a 6.1% stake, with the option of acquiring up to 66.7% of the subsidiary of the SAISON group by the end of 2007. The total investment could be as high as $2 bn.