UK supermarket chain Asda, a subsidiary of US retail titan Wal-Mart, has reportedly made an indicative offer of up to £500m (US$942.5m) for department store chain Littlewoods.
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The unsolicited bid is one of a number of offers to have been made for the company, currently owned by brothers Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay, in recent months, reported The Times.
Among the other companies to have expressed an interest in Littlewoods, which consists of 119 department stores and 70 Index stores, are fashion chain New Look, and Primark, a discount clothing chain owned by Associated British Foods.
The Barclay brothers, who own The Daily Telegraph newspaper, have now initiated a formal sale process for the Littlewoods business, according to The Times.
