Private equity giant KKR is said to be eyeing up a move to take over UK retailer Asda, according to reports, after the Competition and Markets Authority appeared to put the sword to Sainsbury's planned takeover of the Walmart-owned business.
According to the Financial Times, people with knowledge of KKR said that the US group is 'monitoring the situation', adding that interest was at an early stage, and there was no guarantee it would bid for the retailer.
The paper noted that other private equity firms have ruled themselves out of launching a bid for Asda, which would be “too tricky, too big in a very competitive space”, according to one executive.
Elsewhere, The Sunday Times reported that should KKR take over Asda, then Tony De Nunzio, a former president and chief executive at the retailer, would be installed as chairman.
De Nunzio is a senior adviser at KKR.
Last week, the Competition and Markets Authority said that it had 'extensive competition concerns' about Sainsbury's bid for Asda, a claim the two retailers have rejected.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
