Nov 21 (Reuters) - Australian conglomerate Wesfarmers Ltd's (WES) spin-off Coles Group (COL) began trading on Wednesday at A$12.49, giving it a market value of A$17.27 billion ($12.46 billion) that was above expectations.
The debut on the Australian bourse underlined confidence in the nation's No.2 supermarket chain even as it faces fierce competition in the supermarket sector, where a price war with arch rival Woolworths Group Ltd (WOW) is driving deflation, amid heightened online competition.
Without Coles, which was estimated to be worth about A$16 billion, a slimmed-down Wesfarmers would earn nearly 60 percent less revenue, but could generate about 50 percent more return on capital, according to research released by the company last month. ($1 = 1.3856 Australian dollars)