Tesco, Casino Eye Carrefour's SE Asian Assets -FT

30th Jul 2010 19:36

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES U.K. retailer Tesco PLC (TSCO.LN) and French supermarket group Casino Guichard-Perrachon ey Cie SA (CO.FR) are showing interest in acquiring the southeast Asian assets of French hypermarket Carrefour SA (CA.FR), the Financial Times reported Friday on its website. Tesco Chief Executive Terry Leahy, asked if he might bid for the stores, located in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, said the assets would make an obvious fit for Tesco. "It makes sense in the sense that they're in-country acquisitions. "But it depends on price always, and so there have been occasions where we have bought those (stores) like the (Korean) Homever businesses and occasions when we haven't." Casino, meanwhile, has appointed Deutsche Bank AG (DB) to advise it on a potential bid for the stores, the newspaper reported, without citing sources. Casino could not be reached for comment. Carrefour Chief Executive Lars Olofsson in May said he is open to offers for company operations in markets where it isn't in the top two. Full story at: www.ft.com/cms/s/0/94e563d2-9bf0-11df-a7a4-00144feab49a.html -Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2900 (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 30, 2010 14:36 ET (18:36 GMT)