Morrisons poised to sell Kiddicare to Endless by Friday

9th Jul 2014 20:41

Wm Morrison could sell its baby-focused retailer Kiddicare as early as Friday to UK private equity house Endless but is expected to pay a substantial 'dowry' to the buyer.Endless, which specialises in corporate turnarounds, is thought to have beaten off rival Better Capital and is poised to announce a deal before the end of the week, according to Sky News. Morrisons was forced into a £163m writedown against Kiddicare in its last full year results due to the subsidiary's poor performance.Its rationale for buying Kiddicare for £70m in 2011 was in order to piggyback its ecommerce platform, but this has been nullified by its recent online partnership with Ocado.Kiddicare's 10 stores, which Morrisons acquired from the UK remnants of Best Buy, contributed to spiralling losses at the maternity business.The sale could include all of the stores or involve the closing of some sites prior to the closure of the deal.OH