Carrefour announced today (15 November) it has sold its Thai business to Casino subsidiary Big C for EUR868m (US$1.2bn).
Carrefour said the decision to sell the 42 outlets is part of its strategy to “focus its resources on markets where it holds a leadership position and optimise its capital employed”.
It said that its growth prospects in Thailand did not allow it to envisage occupying a leading position in the market in the short or medium-term.
The sale value corresponds to 120% of the company’s net sales and a multiple of 13 x EBITDA.
Casino said the move will make it the co-leader in the hypermarket segment in Thailand and will by financed by Big C’s existing cash balance resources as well as through debt financing.
The deal is expected to close at the beginning of 2011 and Big C said it should be accretive on its earnings as of next year.
Carrefour is also looking to sell its Malaysian and Singapore assets, with UK retailer Tesco, Japanese retailer AEON, and Malaysian private-equity fund Navis Capital all reportedly in the running to buy the assets.
