Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, is in talks to sell its UK supermarket business, Asda, according to reports.
The US company is said to be in early-stage discussions with private equity firms about a possible sale of the business, which it bought for £6.7bn ($8.8bn) in 1999.
Walmart has been trying to offload Asda for some time and earlier this year held talks with rival Sainsbury’s about a merger of the two businesses. However, those talks collapsed after the UK’s competition watchdog said it would block the deal on the grounds that it would lead to higher prices for consumers.
Walmart has since been looking at options for Asda, including a sale or flotation on the stock market. It is thought that any sale of Asda would fetch around £7bn.
Is Walmart trying to sell Asda?
From the article, it appears that Walmart is indeed trying to sell Asda. This is most likely due to the fact that the company has been struggling to make profits and compete with other UK supermarket chains.