To strengthen its business in South Korea, Tesco has acquired around 36 Homever outlets for £958 million.
Most of the shops, bought from E-Land group, are former Carrefour hypermarkets, and a majority of them will be converted to Tesco’s Homeplus format over the next 12 months.
According to the company, the stores, mainly in the Greater Seoul and Gyeonggi metropolitan area, will strengthen Homeplus’s market position.
Sir Terry Leahy, chief executive, Tesco, said: “This acquisition of high-quality assets is an important strategic move and will allow us to accelerate growth in this key market.”
Tesco’s Samsung South Korean division, established in 1999, currently has 66 Homeplus hypermarkets and 72 Homeplus Express stores.
