Tesco Asia sale to be settled before Christmas

Tesco announced it has met all conditions for the £8bn ($10.8bn) sale of its businesses in Thailand and Malaysia, which means its shareholders can soon expect a £5bn payout.

Selling around 2,000 stores in Thailand and 74 in Malaysia to Thai conglomerate CP Group is the last stage of the supermarket giant’s exit from Asia.

“Tesco is pleased to confirm that CP Group has now reviewed and is satisfied with the formal notice of approval” from the Thai Competition Commission, it said in a statement.

This, along with the approval it received from the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs in Malaysia last month, “means there are no further conditions outstanding and the disposal is expected to complete on or around 18 December.”

Tesco had earlier said it intends to return £5bn of the net proceeds from the sale to shareholders via a special dividend, together with a share consolidation, and plans to make a pension contribution of £2.5bn to the Tesco Pension Scheme once the sale is complete.

Tesco Group CEO, Ken Murphy, said “I’m confident that the agreement with CP Group will ensure that they are well setup for continued success. This sale allows us to focus on our businesses across Europe and to continue delivering for customers, make a significant contribution to our pension deficit and return value to shareholders.”

Back in the UK, Tesco announced earlier this month it will repay the government £585m it saved under a business rate holiday for retailers during the pandemic.

But it also mounted a staunch defence of its decision to take the handout, calling it a “game-changer” and saying “every penny” had been spent responding to the pandemic