French retail giant Carrefour has agreed to sell 40 per cent of its Indonesian arm to local conglomerate Trans Corp for more than US$300m, the Financial Times reported.
The sale could help protect the company from further legal action by Indonesia's anti-monopoly watchdog, which ruled in November last year Carrefour was in breach of antitrust laws and should sell its stake in Indonesian company Alfa Retailindo.
That ruling was overturned on appeal in February, but now the Indonesian Commission for the Supervision of Business Competition (KPPU) has launched its own appeal against that decision in the Supreme Court.
Trans Corp's business development director Ashish Saboo told the Financial Times the deal with Carrefour would give his group's retail banking and insurance interests a strategic advantage.
Carrefour has 78 stores in Indonesia and has plans to open 13 new outlets this year.
