Tesco CEO could buy time by selling assets

LONDON: Dave Lewis, the new CEO of Tesco, could take a leaf out of the book of its European peers and consider selling or spinning off non-core businesses and focus on Britain to placate investors stunned by an accounting scandal.

These are some of the disposals Tesco could consider and analysts' valuation estimates:

ASIA BUSINESS - 8-10 BLN POUNDS

Tesco's most lucrative non-UK assets are its businesses in South Korea and Thailand, which could be sold outright or made separate businesses with local management teams and listed locally, as Casino did in Thailand. The South Korea business is seen as worth around 4 billion pounds, and Thailand worth 5 billion pounds. Buyers could include Asian competitors such as Aeon <8267.T> and Lotte Shopping <023530.KS>.

Tesco also has a business in Malaysia.

EUROPE BUSINESS - 3-4 BLN POUNDS

Tesco has businesses in Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia, but may struggle to sell them as there are few local players that might be buyers and its stores there are mainly large hypermarkets, which are falling out of fashion as shopping habits switch to local convenience operators and the Internet.

An alternative could be to try to persuade other European retailers such as privately-owned Rewe of Germany and Auchan of France to participate in an asset swap as Tesco did in 2005 when it swapped its Taiwan unit for Carrefour's Czech assets.

Carrefour could be interested in the Poland business, while Germany's Globus could buy in the Czech Republic.

Tesco said in May it had failed to reach a deal with unnamed third parties over its struggling business in Turkey.

Tesco also has a business in Ireland.

DUNNHUMBY - 2-3 BLN POUNDS

The consumer data gathering company credited with helping Tesco become Britain's top retailer with its Clubcard loyalty scheme could become the focus of a bidding war after a report that Tesco rejected a 2 billion pound offer from TPG Capital.

Dunnhumby also works with other retailers and consumer brands such as Kroger, Macy's, Coca-Cola and Kelloggs.

TESCO BANK - 1-2 BLN POUNDS

Launched in 1997 as a joint venture with Royal Bank of Scotland , Tesco took full control of the bank in 2008 and now has 7 million customers and around 4,000 staff. It launched current accounts earlier this year.

ONE STOP - 500 MLN POUNDS

Tesco's smallest convenience store format that it bought in 2003.

DOBBIES GARDEN CENTERS - 180 MLN POUNDS

The garden center chain Tesco bought for 150 million pounds in 2008.

GIRAFFE AND HARRIS AND HOOLE - 52 MLN POUNDS

Tesco could review the strategy championed by former CEO Phil Clarke to fill unused space in its sprawling hypermarkets with the Giraffe restaurants it bought for 49 million pounds in 2013, Eurphorium artisan bakeries and Harris + Hoole cafes. It has a minority stake in Harris + Hoole.

BLINKBOX - 14 MLN POUNDS

The loss-making video streaming service Tesco bought in 2011 is considered non-core by Lewis and will be sold or closed, according to a person familiar with the situation.

EXCESS LAND/HYPERMARKET SPACE

Tesco is already reducing the amount of new store space it builds each year, building fewer large stores. Where it no longer intends to develop sites, it will sell them, lease them or develop them for housing.

CORPORATE JETS

Tesco has said it plans to sell its fleet of five corporate jets.- Reuters