Chile's banking regulator said on Thursday that it could decide within weeks on whether to give the green light to Mexican high-end department store chain Liverpool's planned acquisition of retailer Ripley RIP.SN.
Santiago-based Ripley has 69 stores in Chile and Peru, and units in retail, financial services and shopping malls, making approval from the local banking regulator a necessary step.
"If we have all the information we need to make a decision, that will be soon, we're talking a matter of weeks," head of Chile's banking authority Eric Parrado told journalists at a business event.
The companies have not yet formally requested approval from the banking regulator.
Liverpool on Tuesday said it had reached an agreement to acquire Ripley in a deal that values the target at 813 billion Chilean pesos (US$1.2 billion).