Tesco, Dairy Farm bid for Carrefour assets

 Carrefour, the world’s number two retailer, had set a November 5 deadline for second-round bids in an auction which is expected to fetch $1bn, sources said.

 The auction has generated strong interest, mostly from trader buyers, the sources said.

 The supermarket operator is selling its shops in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand to focus on markets where it holds leading positions.

 Dairy Farm, which is backed by Jardine Mathseon Holdings Ltd, is interested only in Malaysian and Singapore assets, while Tesco was pursuing most of the assets up for grabs, the sources said.

 Sources previously told reporters that Aeon, Japan’s No 2 retailer, and Malaysian private equity fund Navis Capital would also bid only for Malaysian and Singapore assets.

 The auction is run in two separate processes, one for Thai assets and the other for Malaysian and Singapore assets.

 One source said that French retailer Casino Group, Thai retailer Berli Jucker and Thai Central Group are in the fray for Carrefour’s Thailand assets. But this could not be independently verified from other sources.

 Companies mentioned in this report could either not be reached for a comment or declined to comment.

 Carrefour’s sale comes at a time when Indonesian retailer Matahari is planning to exit its hypermarket business for about $1bn. Wal-Mart Stores Inc, Carlyle Group and South Korea’s Lotte Shopping are in the race to buy the asset, sources previously told reporters.