Tesco has agreed to sell its businesses in the Czech Republic and Slovakia to Ahold Delhaize in a deal worth £1.5bn, marking the UK’s biggest retailer’s latest retreat from overseas markets. Chief executive Ken Murphy said the transaction would “further simplify the group, increasing our focus on our core UK and Irish businesses”.
The Czech Republic and Slovakia generated combined sales of £2.9bn and accounted for the bulk of the £115mn in adjusted operating profit reported by Tesco’s central European division in the previous 52-week financial year. The FTSE 100 company said it should return the majority of net cash proceeds to shareholders via share buybacks. The deal is expected to complete in the second half of 2027.
Tesco’s European operations are its only business of scale outside the UK and Ireland, following a retreat from overseas expansions after its 2014 accounting scandal. The chain previously sold its South Korean business for £4.2bn in 2015 and its operations in Thailand and Malaysia for £8bn in 2020. Tesco said it would “continue to review all options for the future of our business in Hungary”.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing