The top boss of Big C Supercenter has acknowledged that the company is keen to acquire Tesco's Asia business and has submitted its intent to bid.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/18 ... o-interest
Thoughts..............................
I have mixed feelings. Tesco is stocking less and less Farang food. Hopefully, a take-over would see an improvement in that area.
We couldn't park at Market Village last Saturday, so nipped up to the Big C Market. Prices of the items we wanted were substantially higher than Tesco.
CP - Tesco deal approved
CP - Tesco deal approved
Championship Stoke City 3 - 0 Plymouth Argyle 
Points 48; Position 20
Points 48; Position 20
Re: Big C shows interest in Tesco take-over
There are a lot of reports on Thai news channels about CP taking it over also.
Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? - Hunter S Thompson
Re: Big C shows interest in Tesco take-over
Tesco faces Thai regulatory threat to $10bn deal
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-51106295
The sale of Tesco's prized Asian assets - which are potentially valued at up to $10bn (£7.7bn) - may be at risk because of Thailand's competition regulations.
The supermarket chain has nearly 2,000 outlets in Thailand and Malaysia that three Thai groups are hoping to buy.
However, the successful bidder could face regulatory hurdles from Thailand's new anti-competition body.
The country's fair trade commission said the winning bidder could own more than half of the sector in the country.
Sakon Varanyuwatana, chairman of Thailand's Office of Trade Competition Commission, told me: "The size of this bid and its scale means that potentially whoever ends up buying the Tesco assets could end up having more than 50% of the convenience, supermarket and hypermarket retail landscape."
Monopolising the market
Thailand's fair competition rules say that if a merger gives a company more than half of the total market share, it must seek permission from the country's fair trade commission.
If it breaks the law, then it could be hit with a fine of not more than 0.5% of the merger's transaction value.
All of the groups which have expressed interest in buying out Tesco are major retailers in Thailand, so face the risk of monopolising the market to varying degrees.
CP Group, the Central Group and the TCC Group are all understood to be in the running, the BBC understands.
Tesco has been considering the sale of its 2,000 retail outlets in Thailand and Malaysia since last year because of interest from potential bidders, whom it will not name.
The CP Group and the Central Group would not comment when contacted by the BBC, while the TCC Group has not responded.
The anti-competition rules could mean Tesco may not get the price it wants for the stores.
What is at stake?
The majority of Tesco's Asian stores are in Thailand and make up 28% of the country's grocery market, according to a report by Euromonitor in 2018. They are operated under the Tesco Lotus brand.
The Thai business itself is thought to be worth between $6bn and $8bn, and could give the successful bidder access to deep supply chains among Thai farmers, allowing them to set prices for both suppliers and customers.
Tesco shares have jumped on speculation about the bids for its Thai and Malaysian business, which I have been told could fetch up to $10bn.
Tesco's sales fall in 'challenging' market
Tesco considers sale of Thai and Malaysian operations
Bids are due as early as Wednesday, but they would have to be submitted to the Thai anti-competition office at the same time, according to Mr Sakon.
"Any bidder would have to get approval from us first to ensure that they have done the due diligence and analysed what impact their purchase would have on the retail landscape in their sector and to ensure that it doesn't lead to a monopoly or is anti-competitive," he told me.
He also confirmed that some of the companies mentioned in the media have made inquiries with his office about the bidding and approval process.
"They want a clarification about the procedure that they have to prepare," he said. "The bidder can put in a bid to Tesco simultaneously if they meet the criteria prescribed in our notification."
Political independence
There are political considerations too.
"In the past, there have been concerns in Thailand over the political influence of well-connected Thai conglomerates who have been able to sway business decisions in their favour," says Pornapa Luengwattanakit of Baker & McKenzie in Bangkok. Ms Pornapa helped to draft the Thai anti competition law.
"But under the new Trade Competition Act, the trade competition commission is an independent body and not under control of any political regime. They are now quite active and closely monitoring this high-profile transaction," she adds.
The new Trade Competition Act also forbids members on the board of a company from being political, business or governmental figures.
"We have a new office independent of the ministry of commerce or any political influence," said Mr Sakon. "Regardless of how big a company you are, we want to make sure that the small and medium-sized enterprises in Thailand do not get hurt."
Analysts have told me that Tesco will have to consider who can pull off this deal if it wants to deliver value to its shareholders. But while the price it gets is important, it will need to first push this past the strict gaze of Thai regulators.
In turn, the new Thai anti-competition regulator will be keenly watched. Any suggestion of influence from politically well-connected players in the Thai retail sector could threaten its independence, ultimately risking its credibility.
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-51106295
The sale of Tesco's prized Asian assets - which are potentially valued at up to $10bn (£7.7bn) - may be at risk because of Thailand's competition regulations.
The supermarket chain has nearly 2,000 outlets in Thailand and Malaysia that three Thai groups are hoping to buy.
However, the successful bidder could face regulatory hurdles from Thailand's new anti-competition body.
The country's fair trade commission said the winning bidder could own more than half of the sector in the country.
Sakon Varanyuwatana, chairman of Thailand's Office of Trade Competition Commission, told me: "The size of this bid and its scale means that potentially whoever ends up buying the Tesco assets could end up having more than 50% of the convenience, supermarket and hypermarket retail landscape."
Monopolising the market
Thailand's fair competition rules say that if a merger gives a company more than half of the total market share, it must seek permission from the country's fair trade commission.
If it breaks the law, then it could be hit with a fine of not more than 0.5% of the merger's transaction value.
All of the groups which have expressed interest in buying out Tesco are major retailers in Thailand, so face the risk of monopolising the market to varying degrees.
CP Group, the Central Group and the TCC Group are all understood to be in the running, the BBC understands.
Tesco has been considering the sale of its 2,000 retail outlets in Thailand and Malaysia since last year because of interest from potential bidders, whom it will not name.
The CP Group and the Central Group would not comment when contacted by the BBC, while the TCC Group has not responded.
The anti-competition rules could mean Tesco may not get the price it wants for the stores.
What is at stake?
The majority of Tesco's Asian stores are in Thailand and make up 28% of the country's grocery market, according to a report by Euromonitor in 2018. They are operated under the Tesco Lotus brand.
The Thai business itself is thought to be worth between $6bn and $8bn, and could give the successful bidder access to deep supply chains among Thai farmers, allowing them to set prices for both suppliers and customers.
Tesco shares have jumped on speculation about the bids for its Thai and Malaysian business, which I have been told could fetch up to $10bn.
Tesco's sales fall in 'challenging' market
Tesco considers sale of Thai and Malaysian operations
Bids are due as early as Wednesday, but they would have to be submitted to the Thai anti-competition office at the same time, according to Mr Sakon.
"Any bidder would have to get approval from us first to ensure that they have done the due diligence and analysed what impact their purchase would have on the retail landscape in their sector and to ensure that it doesn't lead to a monopoly or is anti-competitive," he told me.
He also confirmed that some of the companies mentioned in the media have made inquiries with his office about the bidding and approval process.
"They want a clarification about the procedure that they have to prepare," he said. "The bidder can put in a bid to Tesco simultaneously if they meet the criteria prescribed in our notification."
Political independence
There are political considerations too.
"In the past, there have been concerns in Thailand over the political influence of well-connected Thai conglomerates who have been able to sway business decisions in their favour," says Pornapa Luengwattanakit of Baker & McKenzie in Bangkok. Ms Pornapa helped to draft the Thai anti competition law.
"But under the new Trade Competition Act, the trade competition commission is an independent body and not under control of any political regime. They are now quite active and closely monitoring this high-profile transaction," she adds.
The new Trade Competition Act also forbids members on the board of a company from being political, business or governmental figures.
"We have a new office independent of the ministry of commerce or any political influence," said Mr Sakon. "Regardless of how big a company you are, we want to make sure that the small and medium-sized enterprises in Thailand do not get hurt."
Analysts have told me that Tesco will have to consider who can pull off this deal if it wants to deliver value to its shareholders. But while the price it gets is important, it will need to first push this past the strict gaze of Thai regulators.
In turn, the new Thai anti-competition regulator will be keenly watched. Any suggestion of influence from politically well-connected players in the Thai retail sector could threaten its independence, ultimately risking its credibility.
May you be in heaven half an hour before the devil know`s you`re dead!
Re: Big C shows interest in Tesco take-over
Thai Tycoons May Find Tesco Is Closed
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/artic ... arket-sale
The sale of the U.K. retailer’s Southeast Asian supermarkets faces stiff scrutiny from a strengthened antitrust regulator.
Bangkok’s billionaires don’t usually have to contend with much resistance as they expand. Tesco Plc’s sale of its Southeast Asian supermarkets may be about to change that.
The $32 billion British retailer said in December it was considering selling the group’s stores in Thailand and Malaysia, becoming the latest international grocery giant to bow out of Asia. First-round bids for the asset, estimated to be worth between $7 billion and $9 billion, are due this week. Suitors are likely to be drawn from local conglomerates, among them: Dhanin Chearavanont’s CP Group; Central Group, controlled by the Chirathivat family; and beer-and-spirits magnate Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi's TCC Group.
So far, so normal for tycoon-heavy Thailand. Perhaps not. Last month, the Office of Trade Competition Commission, or OTCC, threw a wrench in the gears, signaling before offers even materialized that it would review the deal and could rule against any combination that grabbed too much of the market.
Thailand’s government has revamped the antitrust authority since 2017, turning it from a dormant and toothless appendage of the Ministry of Commerce into an impartial agency with an independent workforce. Taking a tough stance could burnish the pro-military administration’s consumer-protection credentials, as it battles a slowing economy and the country’s worst drought in decades.
Added to that, this is the the first high-profile, consumer-facing case that the new-look OTCC has handled. It’s also, potentially, one of the largest-ever acquisitions by a Thai group, and among the largest deals in Asia this year. That all but sets up a tussle with some of the most powerful patriarchs in Thai business.
In theory, problems arise when a company has a market share of 50% or more. The trouble here, as in every antitrust debate, is deciding what counts as a market.
+0.12+0.21%
Bangkok’s billionaires don’t usually have to contend with much resistance as they expand. Tesco Plc’s sale of its Southeast Asian supermarkets may be about to change that.
The $32 billion British retailer said in December it was considering selling the group’s stores in Thailand and Malaysia, becoming the latest international grocery giant to bow out of Asia. First-round bids for the asset, estimated to be worth between $7 billion and $9 billion, are due this week. Suitors are likely to be drawn from local conglomerates, among them: Dhanin Chearavanont’s CP Group; Central Group, controlled by the Chirathivat family; and beer-and-spirits magnate Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi's TCC Group.
So far, so normal for tycoon-heavy Thailand. Perhaps not. Last month, the Office of Trade Competition Commission, or OTCC, threw a wrench in the gears, signaling before offers even materialized that it would review the deal and could rule against any combination that grabbed too much of the market.
Thailand’s government has revamped the antitrust authority since 2017, turning it from a dormant and toothless appendage of the Ministry of Commerce into an impartial agency with an independent workforce. Taking a tough stance could burnish the pro-military administration’s consumer-protection credentials, as it battles a slowing economy and the country’s worst drought in decades.
Added to that, this is the the first high-profile, consumer-facing case that the new-look OTCC has handled. It’s also, potentially, one of the largest-ever acquisitions by a Thai group, and among the largest deals in Asia this year. That all but sets up a tussle with some of the most powerful patriarchs in Thai business.
In theory, problems arise when a company has a market share of 50% or more. The trouble here, as in every antitrust debate, is deciding what counts as a market.
Tesco, under the Tesco Lotus brand, is already Thailand’s biggest supermarket chain with almost 2,000 stores, plus 74 in Malaysia. So, do convenience stores, like CP’s 7-Eleven outlets, count as part of the same market? By the broadest definition, CP touches the vast majority of Thailand’s food chain. What about duty-free, should a last-minute bid come from King Power Group, run by the billionaire Srivaddhanaprabha family that owns Leicester City Football Club? Central Group, meanwhile, has 200 supermarkets, and TCC owns Big C hypermarkets.
All of that suggests plenty of wrangling ahead. Worse, Thailand now has a two-stage reporting structure: Unusually by global standards, would-be merger partners may have to report both ahead of and on completion of any deal that creates a dominant player. That means passing the first hurdle doesn’t guarantee a bidder will clear the second.
In the end, asset sales may be the most palatable solution, should a big retailer win the contest. Antitrust bosses, still early in their tenure, may be reluctant to irk too many big names. Chinese regulators ruffled plenty of feathers when the Beijing-based Ministry of Commerce vetoed Coca-Cola Co.’s acquisition of a Chinese juice maker in 2009. And Thailand, with its unimpressive economy, badly needs investment.
Still, supermarkets are a sensitive and unpredictable area for antitrust authorities, with their focus on safeguarding consumers. Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority, after all, last year stopped J Sainsbury Plc from buying Walmart Inc.’s Asda to create the country’s largest supermarket chain. This could turn into quite a food fight.
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/artic ... arket-sale
The sale of the U.K. retailer’s Southeast Asian supermarkets faces stiff scrutiny from a strengthened antitrust regulator.
Bangkok’s billionaires don’t usually have to contend with much resistance as they expand. Tesco Plc’s sale of its Southeast Asian supermarkets may be about to change that.
The $32 billion British retailer said in December it was considering selling the group’s stores in Thailand and Malaysia, becoming the latest international grocery giant to bow out of Asia. First-round bids for the asset, estimated to be worth between $7 billion and $9 billion, are due this week. Suitors are likely to be drawn from local conglomerates, among them: Dhanin Chearavanont’s CP Group; Central Group, controlled by the Chirathivat family; and beer-and-spirits magnate Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi's TCC Group.
So far, so normal for tycoon-heavy Thailand. Perhaps not. Last month, the Office of Trade Competition Commission, or OTCC, threw a wrench in the gears, signaling before offers even materialized that it would review the deal and could rule against any combination that grabbed too much of the market.
Thailand’s government has revamped the antitrust authority since 2017, turning it from a dormant and toothless appendage of the Ministry of Commerce into an impartial agency with an independent workforce. Taking a tough stance could burnish the pro-military administration’s consumer-protection credentials, as it battles a slowing economy and the country’s worst drought in decades.
Added to that, this is the the first high-profile, consumer-facing case that the new-look OTCC has handled. It’s also, potentially, one of the largest-ever acquisitions by a Thai group, and among the largest deals in Asia this year. That all but sets up a tussle with some of the most powerful patriarchs in Thai business.
In theory, problems arise when a company has a market share of 50% or more. The trouble here, as in every antitrust debate, is deciding what counts as a market.
+0.12+0.21%
Bangkok’s billionaires don’t usually have to contend with much resistance as they expand. Tesco Plc’s sale of its Southeast Asian supermarkets may be about to change that.
The $32 billion British retailer said in December it was considering selling the group’s stores in Thailand and Malaysia, becoming the latest international grocery giant to bow out of Asia. First-round bids for the asset, estimated to be worth between $7 billion and $9 billion, are due this week. Suitors are likely to be drawn from local conglomerates, among them: Dhanin Chearavanont’s CP Group; Central Group, controlled by the Chirathivat family; and beer-and-spirits magnate Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi's TCC Group.
So far, so normal for tycoon-heavy Thailand. Perhaps not. Last month, the Office of Trade Competition Commission, or OTCC, threw a wrench in the gears, signaling before offers even materialized that it would review the deal and could rule against any combination that grabbed too much of the market.
Thailand’s government has revamped the antitrust authority since 2017, turning it from a dormant and toothless appendage of the Ministry of Commerce into an impartial agency with an independent workforce. Taking a tough stance could burnish the pro-military administration’s consumer-protection credentials, as it battles a slowing economy and the country’s worst drought in decades.
Added to that, this is the the first high-profile, consumer-facing case that the new-look OTCC has handled. It’s also, potentially, one of the largest-ever acquisitions by a Thai group, and among the largest deals in Asia this year. That all but sets up a tussle with some of the most powerful patriarchs in Thai business.
In theory, problems arise when a company has a market share of 50% or more. The trouble here, as in every antitrust debate, is deciding what counts as a market.
Tesco, under the Tesco Lotus brand, is already Thailand’s biggest supermarket chain with almost 2,000 stores, plus 74 in Malaysia. So, do convenience stores, like CP’s 7-Eleven outlets, count as part of the same market? By the broadest definition, CP touches the vast majority of Thailand’s food chain. What about duty-free, should a last-minute bid come from King Power Group, run by the billionaire Srivaddhanaprabha family that owns Leicester City Football Club? Central Group, meanwhile, has 200 supermarkets, and TCC owns Big C hypermarkets.
All of that suggests plenty of wrangling ahead. Worse, Thailand now has a two-stage reporting structure: Unusually by global standards, would-be merger partners may have to report both ahead of and on completion of any deal that creates a dominant player. That means passing the first hurdle doesn’t guarantee a bidder will clear the second.
In the end, asset sales may be the most palatable solution, should a big retailer win the contest. Antitrust bosses, still early in their tenure, may be reluctant to irk too many big names. Chinese regulators ruffled plenty of feathers when the Beijing-based Ministry of Commerce vetoed Coca-Cola Co.’s acquisition of a Chinese juice maker in 2009. And Thailand, with its unimpressive economy, badly needs investment.
Still, supermarkets are a sensitive and unpredictable area for antitrust authorities, with their focus on safeguarding consumers. Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority, after all, last year stopped J Sainsbury Plc from buying Walmart Inc.’s Asda to create the country’s largest supermarket chain. This could turn into quite a food fight.
May you be in heaven half an hour before the devil know`s you`re dead!
-
laphanphon
- Guru
- Posts: 787
- Joined: Wed Jun 09, 2004 12:15 am
Re: Big C shows interest in Tesco take-over
The only chain worse than T/L is Big C. I avoided both when available. No Big C at PKK, but Udon Thani has a couple.
It was a nice relief when T/L opened up there, now they suck. T/L here in PKK is one of the worse I've ever been in.
Big C acquired CarreFour, some quite good, and then they sucked or closed and re-branded Big C
C.P. already owns Tesco in China, and Makro here.
Makro and fresh markets for us, for whatever Makro doesn't have, which isn't much. Makro here has improved big time, but still not as good as Pranburi or HH.
It was a nice relief when T/L opened up there, now they suck. T/L here in PKK is one of the worse I've ever been in.
Big C acquired CarreFour, some quite good, and then they sucked or closed and re-branded Big C
C.P. already owns Tesco in China, and Makro here.
Makro and fresh markets for us, for whatever Makro doesn't have, which isn't much. Makro here has improved big time, but still not as good as Pranburi or HH.
Re: Big C shows interest in Tesco take-over
Are you sure. I may be wrong but I thought Tesco sold to the state (CRE) keeping a 20% stake themselves. And I thought that Makro here was controlled by a Dutch organisation.C.P. already owns Tesco in China, and Makro here.
I could be wrong of course.
Re: Big C shows interest in Tesco take-over
https://www.siammakro.co.th/en/investor_shareholder.php
It would appear that Makro still owns 55% and 38% by CP
Then it goes on to say
Remark: * Siam Makro Holdings (Thailand) Limited and CP All Public Company Limited are subsidiaries of CP All Group, in which holds the combined shareholding of 93.08 percent of total issued and paid up shares.
It would appear that Makro still owns 55% and 38% by CP
Then it goes on to say
Remark: * Siam Makro Holdings (Thailand) Limited and CP All Public Company Limited are subsidiaries of CP All Group, in which holds the combined shareholding of 93.08 percent of total issued and paid up shares.
“Never argue with an idiot. They will only bring you down to their level and beat you with experience.”
― George Carlin
“The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those who speak it.” -George Orwell.
― George Carlin
“The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those who speak it.” -George Orwell.
Re: Big C shows interest in Tesco take-over
Getting the same feedback on an isaan facebook page I belong to. Reports from all over that the supply of farang food is being hit hard. Not so many alternatives up there either. Tescos in Korat never really bothered much with farang food because of the alternatives, and one or two cities have TOPs but mainly it will be Makro, who might step in to cover if enough of a farang community.
It seems pretty clear Tesco are calling it a day.
Talk is cheap
Re: Big C shows interest in Tesco take-over
Siam Makro Holdings is controlled by a privately owned Dutch company.sateeb wrote: ↑Fri Jan 17, 2020 7:00 pm https://www.siammakro.co.th/en/investor_shareholder.php
It would appear that Makro still owns 55% and 38% by CP
Then it goes on to say
Remark: * Siam Makro Holdings (Thailand) Limited and CP All Public Company Limited are subsidiaries of CP All Group, in which holds the combined shareholding of 93.08 percent of total issued and paid up shares.
Re: Big C shows interest in Tesco take-over
CP is the winner. I think CP is who Tesco bought facilities/rights from in the first place when they entered Thailand in what??...the early 90's I think.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/18 ... n-business
Edit: Here's a bit about history from an older article: ....."They said CP Group, which had sold its supermarket chain to Tesco during the Asian 1997-98 financial crisis, was the frontrunner.".....
I can't remember at all what CP's supermarket chain name was at the time Tesco bought it.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/18 ... n-business
Edit: Here's a bit about history from an older article: ....."They said CP Group, which had sold its supermarket chain to Tesco during the Asian 1997-98 financial crisis, was the frontrunner.".....
I can't remember at all what CP's supermarket chain name was at the time Tesco bought it.
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Source
Re: Big C shows interest in Tesco take-over
CP Group finances TESCO deal despite numerous lenders pulling out because of coronavirus
Charoen Pokphand Group, Thailand’s largest conglomerate, has sealed a deal with 9 financial institutions to undertake a $10.6 billion acquisition of TESCO’s operations in South East Asia, totaling some 1,965 stores in Thailand and Malaysia.
The deal, which was finalized at the end of April, saw 9 financial institutions from across the world offer facilities to CP Group to undertake what is so far the single biggest acquisition deal in the world in 2020.
The $10.6 billion deal by CP Group to buy out the Thai and Malaysian operations of TESCO went ahead despite many financial institutions pulling out of the deal due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the need for liquidity.
https://www.thaienquirer.com/12714/cp-g ... ronavirus/
Nothing like expanding a monopoly ...
Charoen Pokphand Group, Thailand’s largest conglomerate, has sealed a deal with 9 financial institutions to undertake a $10.6 billion acquisition of TESCO’s operations in South East Asia, totaling some 1,965 stores in Thailand and Malaysia.
The deal, which was finalized at the end of April, saw 9 financial institutions from across the world offer facilities to CP Group to undertake what is so far the single biggest acquisition deal in the world in 2020.
The $10.6 billion deal by CP Group to buy out the Thai and Malaysian operations of TESCO went ahead despite many financial institutions pulling out of the deal due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the need for liquidity.
https://www.thaienquirer.com/12714/cp-g ... ronavirus/
Nothing like expanding a monopoly ...
Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? - Hunter S Thompson
Re: Big C shows interest in Tesco take-over
It's going to give Tesco UK a financial shot in the arm, probably much needed at the moment and going forward.
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Source
Re: Big C shows interest in Tesco take-over
So what happened to this? Oh, I forgot, it is who it is that matters here!https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/artic ... arket-sale
The sale of the U.K. retailer’s Southeast Asian supermarkets faces stiff scrutiny from a strengthened antitrust regulator.
May you be in heaven half an hour before the devil know`s you`re dead!
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GroveHillWanderer
- Guru
- Posts: 807
- Joined: Tue May 24, 2016 10:48 am
- Location: Nong Kae
Re: Big C shows interest in Tesco take-over
A bit, but seriously I was here for the entire period that Lotus was in existence and I never saw one. Granted I didn't live in Bangkok and perhaps they had very few suburban branches, but I simply don't recall ever seeing one. Once Tesco took over in 1998 there were large new builds going up and then it became obvious ( and welcome) that something new and convenient was happening in towns everywhere. The death knell started to ring at that moment for small Thai owned and operated food and goods shops.
I don't think CP can or will retain the Tesco name here, we'll see if they revert back to Lotus, or something completely new.
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Source