Shoprite selling India hypermarket to Future-paper

MUMBAI Feb 4 (Reuters) - Shoprite Holdings (SHPJ.J), Africa's biggest grocer, is selling its sole hypermarket in India to the Future Group that runs India's largest listed shopping chain, Pantaloon Retail (PART.BO), the Economic Times said.

Citing two unidentified people familiar with the development, the newspaper said on Thursday the Indian group is buying the 6,500 square feet Shoprite outlet at a Mumbai mall along with its employees to set up a food store.

It did not give financial details but said the South African firm had called off its franchisee deal with Indian real estate developer Nirmal Lifestyle Group, which owns the mall where the hypermarket is located.

"We are currently in talks and I do not want to comment on anything further," Kishore Biyani, the chief executive of Future Group, was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

Ram Harishankar, executive director of Shoprite Group in India, could not be reached for comment, the paper said, while Nirmal Lifestyle Managing Director Dharmesh Jain declined to speak on the development. (Reporting by Janaki Krishnan; Editing by Ranjit Gangadharan)