Tesco to buy C&C chain Makro Malaysia

Tesco will acquire the eight-store Makro Cash & Carry operation in Malaysia. It succesfully outbidded other retailers and hence it will buy the chain from the Dutch firm SHV Holdings NV, who owns 65 per cent of the chain. The New Straits Times newspaper reported this.

The newspaper quoted unindentified sources, saying that last September SHV put Makro Malaysia up for sale after it decided to withdraw from that market. According to the sources, the employees will be informed next week, when the deal is officially announced. the winning bid remains a secret, but it is said that it beat the offer from another, very interested party, Carrefour.. Also Wal-Mart, Costco and Metro Group were among the bidding companies, the newspaper said.

According to PlanetRetail, Tesco is active in Malaysia via a joint venture with local conglomerate Sime Darby Berhad. The company, Tesco Stores (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, is 70 per cent owned by Tesco Plc and 30 per cent by Sime Darby Berhad. In Malaysia Tesco operates 12 hypermarkets and 5 Tesco Express supermarkets.