Sanpower Group Co., Ltd. said it has agreed to buy the iconic House of Fraser, the third largest group of traditional department stores in the United Kingdom that operates 60 stores throughout the country. Sanpower will acquire ownership through a subsidiary, Nanjing Cenbest.

The sale should be finalized in four months. House of Fraser Executive Chairman Don McCarthy will step down once the deal is completed. The deal will also end plans by the department store group to list on the London Stock Exchange.

Like Us on Facebook

The House of Fraser purchase is by far the largest overseas acquisition in the retail sector by a Chinese business.  Sanpower Chairman Yuan Yafei described the deal as a "landmark transaction."

Yafei said his intention is to expand House of Fraser overseas. The House of Fraser currently runs 60 stores across the UK and Ireland. It also operates one store in Abu Dhabi.

"House of Fraser is a strong and iconic heritage brand in the UK and abroad, with exceptional fashion credentials," Yafei said.

"The management team has done an incredible job moving this business from a traditional department store to a recognized premium branded fashion retailer with a first-class multichannel offering.

Yafewi noted that Sanpower has "always been looking to invest in strong brands like House of Fraser, and take them to the next level of growth."

For his part, McCarthy, said the takeover opens an "extremely exciting chapter" for the House of Fraser. He said it will allow House of Fraser's management team "to continue to grow and invest in the business in the UK and Ireland, provide a strong platform from which to expand the brand in international markets and to further develop our multichannel, stores and premium fashion offering."

Based in Nanjing, Sanpower has operations in China and overseas in retail and trading, information services, real estate, media and finance and investment businesses.