Aeon Co., Japan's biggest supermarket chain, said it plans to set up a publicly traded real estate investment trust by February 2013 as it pushes to cut debt.
Aeon aims to reduce debt by more than ¥200 billion by raising funds through the REIT and via other "reforms," Yoshiki Mori, a senior executive vice president, said in Tokyo on Thursday.
The mall operator, which last month said it was considering setting up the REIT, has made acquisitions to grow amid a recovery in demand following the March 2011 disasters. Aeon had total debt of ¥1.4 trillion as of February, according to Bloomberg data.
Last year, the retailer agreed to pay ¥45 billion for regional grocers Marunaka Co. and Sanyo Marunaka KK, to expand in the western part of the country. Aeon will use proceeds from the IPO, the biggest by a Japanese REIT, to build more shopping centers, the Nikkei newspaper reported last month.