KUALA LUMPUR: Sime Darby Bhd (SDB) is divesting its entire 30% stake in Tesco Stores (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd for RM300 mil in line with its ongoing non-core asset rationalisation exercise.
Its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Sime Darby Allied Products Bhd and Sime Darby Holdings Bhd, today inked conditional agreements with CP Retail Development Company Ltd, Tesco Holdings BV and Tesco PLC for the disposal.
In a statement today, SDB said the disposal was part of a larger deal between Tesco PLC and Thailand’s CP Group (CP), signed in March, to sell Tesco PLC’s businesses in Thailand and Malaysia to CP for an enterprise value of US$10.6 bil (RM46.6 bil).
SDB is expected to record an estimated net gain on disposal of RM270 mil from the sale of the stake that it has held since 2001.
It said the transaction, conditional on the approval of Malaysia’s Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, was expected to be completed in the second half of this year.
Group CEO Datuk Jeffri Salim Davidson said the deal provided the company with an opportunity to exit the non-core hypermarket business at a reasonable valuation.
“We have come a long way with our joint-venture with Tesco since we opened our first store in Puchong in 2002. We have grown the business over the years and now have 69 stores nationwide.
“This transaction is part of our ongoing efforts to rationalise our non-core assets,” he added. – April 22, 2020, Bernama
