Tue, 21 Jul 2020 | BUSINESS SALE
American grocery giant Walmart has said it has revived talks over a potential sale of its UK supermarket chain Asda. Walmart was previously seeking to sell Asda, as we reported here, before these plans were put on hold to allow the company to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the time, Apollo Global Management, Lone Star Funds and TDR Capital (reportedly working with EG Group on its bid) were all reported to have submitted first round offers and been invited to the next bidding stage of a deal that would potentially have valued Asda at over £7 million.
In a statement, Walmart said: “Walmart and Asda have restarted conversations with a small number of third-party investors who are interested in acquiring a stake in Asda and partnering with Walmart, following renewed inbound interest.”
“Now is the right time to explore options for a third party to invest in our business to accelerate the long-term delivery of our value strategy, both in stores and online.” The company added that there was “no certainty that a transaction will happen”.
The company added that the COVID-19 pandemic had "demonstrated Asda's resilience and the key role we play in supporting different communities".
Walmart has been seeking to scale back its UK presence for several years as it looks to refocus on high-growth international markets such as India. Last year, a proposed merger of Asda, which Walmart acquired for £6.7 billion in 1999, with J Sainsbury was blocked by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority.
Asda has 639 UK outlets, including 340 superstores. It has suffered disappointing sales over recent years, as the success of discount supermarkets Aldi and Lidl have threatened its status as the discount option among the UK’s “Big Four” supermarkets, alongside Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons.
In its most recent accounts, to the year ending December 31 2018, Asda reported profits of £391 million, up £90 million from a year earlier, with total assets valued at close to £5.5 billion.
Find businesses for sale here.
If you are looking for an exit, we can help!
The e-commerce retailer that sells goods imported from China and India through eBay and Amazon. Following a change in circumstances, the owner is now seeking to sell the business and retire. The business sells a wide range of imported products throug...
LEASEHOLD
The business has traded from this site for over 10 years and was later purchased by the owner 4 years later who embarked on a complete transformation to enable him to attract a wider customer base.
FREEHOLD
A rare opportunity to acquire, by way of a share purchase, all of the issued share capital in this highly profitable UK Limited company (“the Business”) that has been established for more than 15 years. This company was set up by current owners o...
LEASEHOLD
|
24
|
|
Jun
|
E-commerce imports retailer up for sale for £1.6m | BUSINESS SALE
Deals Incorporated, a Manchester-based e-commerce retailer t...
|
23
|
|
Jun
|
Auto Trader completes acquisition of Autorama at nearly 16x gross profits | BUSINESS SALE
Auto Trader has completed the acquisition of new vehicle lea...
|
22
|
|
Jun
|
Acquisitive ESG consultancy set to be sold | BUSINESS SALE
An acquisitive environmental and sustainability consultancy ...
Sign up to receive our acquisition alert emails to get your FREE guide
|
19
|
|
Oct
|
EG Group’s £750m Asda forecourts acquisition collapses | BUSINESS NEWS
EG Group has announced that its planned £750 million a...
|
16
|
|
Jun
|
Competition watchdog approves sale of Asda petrol stations | DIVISION SALE
The UK competition regulator has accepted an offer from pros...
|
17
|
|
Mar
|
Walmart closing in on Asda sale | BUSINESS SALE
American retail giant Walmart is closing in on a sale of UK ...
Business Sale Report is your complete solution to finding great acquisition opportunities.
Join today to receive:
All this and much more, including the latest M&A news and exclusive resources