Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, has sold UK supermarket chain Asda to rival Sainsbury’s for £7.3bn. The deal will see Walmart take a 42% stake in the combined business, with Sainsbury’s taking 58%.
The move comes as the two companies look to compete with market leader Tesco and the fast-growing German discounters Aldi and Lidl. The deal is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to complete in late 2019.
As part of the deal, Walmart will receive £2.97bn in cash and £4.34bn in new Sainsbury’s shares. It will also receive a seat on the board of the combined company.
The deal values Asda at £7.3bn, or £6.35 per share. That is a premium of around 10% to Asda’s share price before news of the deal emerged.
Sainsbury’s has agreed to buy Walmart’s UK supermarket chain Asda for £7.3 billion. The all-share transaction will see Sainsbury’s become the UK’s largest grocery retailer, with more than 2,800 stores and almost a third of the grocery market share.
The deal is still subject to regulatory approval but if it goes ahead, it is expected to be completed by late 2019.
Walmart will receive £2.97 billion in cash and £4.34 billion in new Sainsbury’s shares, as well as a seat on the board of the combined company.
This article was written by BBC News.
