Tesco is considering offloading its Asian stores in a deal that could value retail operations across its Thai and Malaysian business at up to $9bn (£6.8bn).
The grocer, which has 2,000 stores across the two countries under the Tesco Lotus brand and 60,000 employees, has confirmed that “after receiving inbound interest” the business “has commenced a review of the strategic options for its businesses in Thailand and Malaysia, including an evaluation of a possible sale of these businesses”.
The move comes after a wider international retreat from the grocery titan, which has exited from the USA, South Korea and Japan over the last decade.
Tesco said the “evaluation of strategic options is at an early stage” and that “no decisions concerning the future of Tesco Thailand or Malaysia have been taken”.
The business has also sold a swathe of assets in recent years, spearheaded by outgoing chief executive Dave Lewis, who joined in the wake of the grocer’s 2014 accountancy scandal, including Dobbies garden centres, the Harris + Hoole coffee chain and Giraffe restaurants.
Tesco’s Malaysian and Thai subsidiary generated almost £5bn in sales last year and has been heralded as a “trophy asset” by analysts.
Bruno Monteyne, of Bernstein, said a mooted $9bn valuation first reported by The Wall Street Journal “does not seem unreasonable”, according to The Times.
Tesco has operated in Thailand for two decades and, if a sale were to take place, it would mark the biggest deal under Lewis’ stewardship by some margin.
No comments yet