Tesco has struck a deal to sell its South Korean business Homeplus to Korean buyout firm MBK Partners for £4.2bn in hopes of balancing out debt. Tesco, the biggest supermarket chain in the UK and third largest retailer in the world, has fallen over £20bn in debt in recent years. Chief executive of Tesco Dave Lewis said: “This sale realises material value for shareholders and allows us to make significant progress on our strategic priority of protecting and strengthening our balance sheet.”
MBK Partners plans to invest one trillion won in retail chain Homeplus over the next two years. Currently, Homeplus is the second largest retailer in South Korea with 113 branches.