Investment bank UBS has taken a stake in Jumbo, the Argentine arm of Chilean retailer Cencosud.

The retailer announced yesterday (30 March) that UBS spent US$442m acquiring a 38.6% stake in the chain, shares previously held by a number of investment funds.

Cencosud said an agreement with UBS means that the retailer can buy the stake back from the bank within two years.

Earlier this month, the retailer said that net income rose 23.8% during 2010 on the back of higher sales across its different store formats.