PETALING JAYA: Sime Darby Bhd’s (SDB) wholly-owned subsidiaries Sime Darby Allied Products Bhd and Sime Darby Holdings Bhd have entered into conditional agreements with CP Retail Development Company Limited, Tesco Holdings BV and Tesco PLC to divest its 30% stake in Tesco Stores (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd for RM300 million.
The disposal is part of a larger deal between Tesco PLC and Thailand’s CP Group (CP) signed in March 2020, to sell Tesco PLC’s businesses in Thailand and Malaysia to CP for an enterprise value of US$10.6 billion.
SDB expects an estimated net gain on disposal of RM270 million from the sale of its stake in Tesco Malaysia, a joint venture it has held since 2001.
SDB group CEO Datuk Jeffri Salim Davidson said it has come a long way with its joint-venture with Tesco.
“We opened our first store in Puchong in 2002. We have grown the business over the years and now have 69 stores nationwide.
“This deal provides SDB with an opportunity to exit the non-core hypermarket business at a reasonable valuation. This transaction is part of our ongoing efforts to rationalise our non-core assets,” he said in a statement.
The transaction is conditional upon the approval of the Malaysian Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, the sale of Tesco BV’s shares in Tesco Malaysia and the sale of Tesco’s Thai business to CP. The proposed disposal is expected to complete in the second half of 2020.
