Thai billionaire Dhanin Chearavanont has had informal talks with a Thai bank for a potential buyback of retail giant Tesco Lotus, according to Reuters.
The news agency has reported that Dhanin is considering buying the 1,737 Tesco retail stores in Thailand, now valued at US$10bn.The bid would be made through Dhanin’s CP Group, but both CP Group and Tesco have yet to confirm the bid is on the table.
Dhanin is no stranger to major retail buybacks, purchasing Thailand’s largest retailer Siam Makro for more than 53 times its 2012 earnings.
Since a whistleblower uncovered a US $432.5m black hole in Tesco's accounting, as well as posting a 92 per cent fall in pre-tax profit in the first six months of 2014, the UK-based company has announced that it is exploring potential avenues to repay its debts, including floatings its Asian operations.
