Country Road buys Witchery Group for $181 mln

JOHANNESBURG ( ) - Australian clothing retailer Country Road, a unit of South Africa's Woolworths, will buy local rival Witchery Group in a $181 million deal that broadens its offering in upscale apparel. Witchery Group, which is being sold by by private equity firm Gresham, operates 210 stores under the Witchery brand and 96 bag and jewellery stores under the Mimco brand. Country Road, which is 88 percent-owned by Cape Town-based Woolworths, said on Wednesday it would fund the 172 million Australian dollars deal through debt and equity. It will borrow A$92 million from banks and raise a similar