Britain’s biggest supermarket chain, Tesco PLC, has agreed to buy Booker Group PLC, the country’s largest cash and carry wholesale supplier, for about £3.7 billion (US$4.64 billion), cementing its dominant position in the UK.
In a joint statement yesterday, Tesco and Booker said the combined group would bring benefits for consumers, independent retailers, caterers, small businesses, suppliers, and staff as well as value to shareholders.
“This merger with Booker will further enhance Tesco’s growth prospects by creating the UK’s leading food business with combined expertise in retail, wholesale, supply chain and digital,” Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis said.
The deal sees Lewis, who took the helm at Tesco in 2014 when the firm was in crisis and losing market share rapidly, switch to acquisition mode from his strategy of streamlining the sprawling international business.
His focus has been on reviving Tesco’s main grocery business in Britain and over the past two years he has sold Tesco’s South Korean arm for US$6.1 billion, as well as its Turkish business and the Giraffe restaurant chain.
Under the terms of the deal each Booker shareholder will receive 0.861 new Tesco shares and £0.426 in cash.
Based on Tesco’s closing share price on Thursday of £1.89 the deal represents a value of £2.053 per Booker share — a premium of about 12 percent on its Thursday close.
The deal will result in Booker shareholders owning approximately 16 percent of the combined group.
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