Australia's Coles slides after Greencross talks, blocking of WA site deal

Coles

01/07/2026 06:59

Updates with analyst quote
** Shares of Australia's Coles COL.AX extend losses by midday, tumbling as much 7.8% to A$22.48, their sharpest intraday slide since late February, making it the worst performer on ASX200 .AXJO
** Coles confirms it is in talks with U.S. private equity heavyweight TPG over a potential acquisition of Greencross Pet Wellness
** Separately, Australia's competition watchdog (ACCC) blocked Coles from taking over the lease for a planned new supermarket and liquor store site in Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Western Australia
** The ACCC decision has reminded investors that even defensive supermarket names face real regulatory risk, making any potential Greencross talks more sensitive as the market now questions whether Coles can pursue new growth without piling on regulatory, execution and balance-sheet risk, said Hebe Chen, market analyst at Vantage Markets
** Session's losses cut stock's YTD gains to 6.4%
     
     

 (Reporting by Shivangi Lahiri, Kumar Tanishk, and Anjali Singh in Bengaluru)
 ((shivangi.lahiri@thomsonreuters.com))