Tesco Says No To Carlyle's £4 Bid For South Korean Business

Tesco rejected private equity firm Carlyle's £4 billion unsolicited takeover bid for the UK retailer's business in South Korea. At present, Tesco operates 400 directly owned stores in the country, with another 200 stores owned by franchisees. Tesco stores are serving more than 6 million customers a week across the country, making South Korea the company's largest market outside the UK. According to industry sources, Carlyle has made two takeover offers – the first one when Richard Broadbent was Tesco chairman and another when John Allan replaced Broadbent in March 2015.