14 May 2008


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Tesco buys stores in South Korea


Tesco

Tesco is buying 36 Homever stores in South Korea from the E-Land Group, for £958 million, including existing debt.

Most of the stores will be converted to the Homeplus format over the next twelve months.

The acquisition and conversion of these large hypermarkets, twenty of which are in the Greater Seoul and Gyeonggi metropolitan area, will strengthen Homeplus’ position in the market, Tesco said in a written statement.

Tesco chief executive Terry Leahy said:

“After nine years of successful development in South Korea, Samsung Tesco is now a substantial business and our leading international operation.

"This acquisition of high quality assets is an important strategic move, which will allow us to accelerate our growth in this key market and deliver a much stronger offer for customers as we convert the stores to Homeplus.

"It also demonstrates our continued commitment to invest into South Korea.”

Samsung Tesco president and CEO SH Lee said:

“This deal is good news for the Korean consumer, our employees and Homeplus. It will enable us to offer our customers a better shopping experience with improved product range, prices and services.

"We plan to integrate the businesses to create one team, providing excellent development opportunities for Homeplus and Homever staff.”

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