Tesco clinches $10-billion Asian sale to Thai billionaire

GENEVA | HONG KONG: Tesco agreed to sell its Asian businesses to Thai billionaire Dhanin Chearavanont for more than $10 billion, clinching a record deal in Thailand even as the coronavirus outbreak damps enthusiasm for mergers and acquisitions worldwide.

Britain’s largest supermarket chain said it plans a £5 billion ($6.6 billion) special dividend after the sale of the assets to Chearavanont’s Charoen Pokphand Group. The UK grocer is gaining a cash infusion as it focuses on its home market, where it’s cutting thousands of jobs.

The company joins Carrefour of France and Metro of Germany in divesting Asian operations as the European retailers focus on their domestic markets. Metro agreed to sell its Chinese business for about ¤1.9 billion last year while Carrefour also inked a deal to dispose its operations in China.


The sale marks the end of Tesco’s 22-year-presence in Thailand, where it runs more than 2,000 hypermarkets and convenience stores under the Tesco Lotus brand.

Tesco shares fell 0.6% on Monday in London even as the FTSE 100 Index slumped 6.3% amid a global stock selloff. Over the past 12 months Tesco has risen about 5%.