Walmart resumes attempts to sell Asda

Walmart has resumed its attempts to sell its British subsidiary Asda, which it had paused because of the coronavirus crisis. The American retail giant says however that a positive result is not guaranteed.

Several candidates

Walmart has engaged in talks with a small number of external investors, who are interested in purchasing a stake in the British supermarket chain, the BBC reports. Earlier this year three parties (Apollo Global Management, TDR Capital and Lone Star Funds) held acquisition negotiations with Walmart, but the talks were disrupted by the emerging Covid-crisis.

Walmart has been trying to divest Asda for a while now, and even struck a deal with its British competitor Sainsbury’s. That attempt failed after the British competition watchdog objected to the deal, fearing for market disturbances.

Walmart purchased the chain from Leeds in 1999, but in the last few years it has reviewed its international strategy and decided to focus on markets like India and China, where it sees room to grow through alliances with local partners like JD.com.