Tesco checking out overseas ventures

The latest offloading of Homeplus for $6.1 billion is not the first one for troubled UK's retail giant Tesco. Gradually over a period of time, Tesco had been forced to sell off its overseas business ventures owing to adverse conditions back at home or non-realization of business targets.

Tesco is the largest supermarket chain in the UK and world's third largest retailer after Wal-Mart and Carrefour. With a business ambition of beating Wal-Mart, Tesco has started expanding overseas by establishing retailing ventures in the US, Europe and other Asian nations.

But the UK retailing major couldn't reach its business target that led it to withdraw from overseas operations whiile consolidating operations back home.

Tesco sold its French business operations in 1997. In 2011, Tesco decided to withdraw from Japan market as it couldn't establish business operations the way it had planned.

Subsequently, it announced that it would come out of US venture Fresh and Easy in 2013. Tesco had invested GBP 1 billion in the US venture.

During the same year, Tesco was unwillingly ceding some controlling stake in Chinese venture.

Tesco has operations across 11 countries with a global headcount of 500,000 across 7,817 stores.

Most recently, Tesco has sold its South Korean business Homeplus for GBP 4.2billion ($6.1bn). The UK retailing major will use the sale proceeds to pay off its debt and strengthen the business operations.

South Korean private equity (PE) firm MBK Partners along with a Canadian pension fund and Singapore-based Temasek Holdings has acquired Homeplus from Tesco. The buyout deal is the largest private equity deal in South Korea so far.

After selling off, Tesco aims at turning around it troublesome operations in the UK.

Homeplus has 140 hypermarkets, 609 supermarkets and 326 convenience stores. It suffered GBP131million loss in 2014.

The Korean government's law aimed at benefiting domestic retailing firms, has imposed restrictions on foreign retailing companies such as Tesco for conducting business not more than two Sundays. This impacted business volumes of Tesco and led the top management to dispose the venture.

The debt of Tesco stands at GBP21.7bn and this will come down by GBP4.2 bn after setting off the sale proceeds of Homeplus.

Shares of Tesco Plc on London bourse were up 2.18 percent and trading at 190.05pence on Tuesday.

Tesco reported the biggest loss ever by any retailer in the country and one of the largest in the UK corporate history. Tesco posted a hefty pre-tax loss of GBP6.4bn for the year to February as against the pre-tax profit of GBP 2.26bn in the previous year.

Homeplus was the major contributor of revenues among Tesco's other overseas business units.