Tesco Sells Korea Business for

Nigel Thomas
07 Sep, 2015
New York City

Tesco agreed to sell its South Korean retail business to a group led by private-equity firm MBK Partners for

[R]4:00 PM Frankfurt – Tesco agreed to sell its South Korean retail business to a group led by private-equity firm MBK Partners for £4 billion. Glencore suspends dividend, plans to sell asset sale and raise equity capital to cut net debt by $10 billion to $20 billion.[/R]

In London trading, FTSE 100 index gained 33 or 0.6% to 6,076 and in Frankfurt the DAX index rose 53.91 or 0.5% to 10,091.84.

In Paris, CAC 40 index increased 16.83 or 0.4% to 4,540.38.

Associated British Foods Plc slumped 2.2% to 3,069 pence after the U.K.-based diversified multinational food and ingredients retailer reaffirmed its full-year earnings to match previous year’s earning.

The company said group revenue for the 40-weeks period ending on June 20 increased 2% and operating profit will be ahead of last year.

Primark and at its grocery, ingredients and agriculture businesses is likely to offset by a large reduction in profit in its sugar business.

Annual sales for the year are estimated to increase 13% from a year ago and total sales at actual exchange rates in the period jumped 9% ahead of the same period last year.

Glencore Plc soared 6.6% to 131.20 pence after the Switzerland-based natural resource producer and trader said it will suspend its dividends till 2016, sell assets to raise $2 billion and will raise $2.5 billion from a stock issue

The restructuring will reduce the net debt to $20 billion from $30 billion by the end of next year.

The miner had suspended copper production for 18-months from Katanga operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mopani project in Zambia.

Tesco Plc fell 0.1% to 185.70 pence after the U.K.-based grocery retailer agreed to sell its South Korean retail business to a group led by private-equity firm MBK Partners Ltd. for £4 billion or $6.1 billion.

Tesco will utilize net proceeds to reduce its debt of £4.23 billion.

Tesco is in businesses restructuring and reported full-year net loss of $8.5 billion through February and has already closed 43 unprofitable stores in April.

The transaction is expected to close fourth-quarter of this year.

ThyssenKrupp AG gained 1.2% to €18.45 after the Germany-based industrial conglomerate’s chief financial officer said to Boersen Zeitung that the company is targeting €850 million in savings in the current fiscal year ending September.

The company plans to achieve operating profit of about €2 billion in the coming years.