Sears is buying into some trading firms.

Sears World Trade, a unit of the Chicago-based retailer, said it intends to acquire a 75% controlling interest in the European and North American subsidiaries of Hagemeyer N.V., a general trading company based in the Netherlands. Sears also said that it will acquire a 20% interest in Hagemeyer’s remaining trading operations in Southeast Asia. Washington-based Sears Trade will purchase about 777,000 new shares of Hagemeyer for about $24 million to $25 million.