Tesco has joined a bidding war for a raft of stores being put up for sale by Carrefour of France.
The world third-largest retail group by sales, Tesco is one of around a dozen companies in the auction, sources said.
The grocery giant already has a sizeable operation in Asia. Its biggest single business is in South Korea, which last year had sales of £4.2billion. It also has outlets in China, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand.
Several international retail groups are understood to have signalled their interest in the Carrefour assets. Private equity groups are in the running, and the list of bidders includes Singapore-based Dairy Farm and Aeon of Japan.
Several international retail groups are understood to have signalled their interest in the Carrefour assets. Private equity groups are in the running, and the list of bidders includes Singapore-based Dairy Farm and Aeon of Japan.
The businesses put up for sale by Carrefour comprise 61 stores, most of which are in Thailand, with the rest in Malaysia and Singapore. Carrefour hopes to secure around £650million for the bundle of assets now up for grabs.
Tesco is already market leader in Thailand and Malaysia with grocery market shares of 13 per cent and 10 per cent respectively.
Carrefour is undergoing a major restructuring exercise under chief executive Lars Olofsson.he has spelled out plans to withdraw from markets where the company is only a small player. It wants to concentrate its investment in countries where it is already market leader or where it has a reasonable prospect of being a major force.
The French group is the second-largest retailer in the world after Wal-Mart of the US. It has already pulled out of southern Italy and is weighing up plans to withdraw from Portugal.
Carrefour is expected to hold on to its stores in China, Indonesia and Taiwan. Tesco has been equally clear about its plans to invest heavily in the Far East, as it looks for opportunities to expand its business, which is approaching saturation in the UK.
The company is Britain's largest non-food retailer as well as the largest grocer. Sales last year were around £800million a week.
The company has opened in the US, but last year showed heavy losses - and outgoing chief executive Sir Terry Leahy admitted that the picture will be little better Stateside in 2010-2011.Tesco shares rose 9p to 416p, buoyed by the general rise in the stock market.
In the UK, it emerged this week that Tesco is slashing about 2,000 management roles at its Express convenience stores as part of a restructuring plan.
Tesco declined to comment on the Carrefour auction.
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