US private-equity giant Carlyle Group and Goldman Sachs’s private-equity arm are among the shortlisted bidders for Tesco’s South Korean grocery empire.
The $6 billion (£4.1 billion) sale has also attracted two Asian private-equity players — MBK Partners, from Korea, and Hong Kong-based Affinity Equity Partners, Asia’s largest buyout firm, according to a South Korean newspaper.
It is not clear whether another US private-equity house, KKR, is still participating in the bidding.
Next-round bids for what is likely to be the biggest-ever private-equity deal in Asia are understood to be due in mid-August.
Orion Corp, a non-private equity suitor, failed to progress to the next round, while Hyundai Department Store, which had been interested in the Tesco business, did not bid.
Tesco is selling its South Korean business, which has more than 400 stores, 500 franchises and six million customers a week.
The sale is part of a restructuring put in place by chief executive, Dave Lewis.
Analysts say selling the Korean unit is the easiest way for Tesco to cut debt and fund a turnaround plan at home.
The group is battling to recover from its £263 million accounting scandal as well as attempting to regain the market share lost to discounters Aldi and Lidl.
