Affinity, Carlyle among early bidders for Tesco's S.Korean unit-media

ORION Holdings

25/06/2015 24:26

SEOUL, June 25 (Reuters) - Private equity firms Affinity 
Equity Partners, Carlyle Group  CG.O  and CVC Capital Partners 
were among 7 to 8 preliminary bidders for Tesco's  TSCO.L  South 
Korean unit, a Korean newspaper reported on Thursday.  
    The Korea Economic Daily said private equity firms MBK 
Partners, Goldman Sachs  GS.N  Principal Investment Area, TPG 
and snackmaker Orion Corp  001800.KS  were also among the 
preliminary bidders that expressed interest for the around $6 
billion business, citing an unnamed investment banking source.  
    Tesco has hired HSBC  HSBA.L  to explore a sale of its South 
Korean operations, people familiar with the matter told Reuters 
earlier this month.  ID:nL3N0YQ344  
    Spokesmen for Affinity, MBK, CVC and Orion could not be 
immediately reached. Goldman Sachs declined to comment.  
 
 (Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Richard Pullin) 
 ((jungyoon.lee@thomsonreuters.com; +82 2 3704 5609; Reuters 
Messaging: jungyoon.lee.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: TESCO SOUTHKOREA/SALE