Walmart looking to bail out of the UK ahead of Brexit.

[saveliberty]

It’s clearly a bombshell announcement, though whether it’s surprising is another matter. Asda has struggled to compete against the discounters Aldi and Lidl (appearing powerless to close the price gap, despite massive cost-cutting and restructures)

Walmart can’t keep milking the UK for dividends, as it has, in the midst of a discounter-led price war, and amid such structural upheaval.

Combined sales total £51bn. Sainsbury’s is paying £2.975bn to Asda parent company Walmart and issuing 1.6 billion new shares for a 42% stake, while Walmart has written off Asda’s debts and pension obligations, taking a £2bn hit in the process. The valuation of Asda at £7.3bn – barely more than the £6.9bn Walmart paid for Asda in 1999 – has already risen with the increase in Sainsbury’s share price.

Again, Brexit is not mentioned in the new article either. What is mentioned at least twice is a discounter price war. Walmart nets a profit and 42% interest in the new company.

 

[Tommy Tainant]

It’s clearly a bombshell announcement, though whether it’s surprising is another matter. Asda has struggled to compete against the discounters Aldi and Lidl (appearing powerless to close the price gap, despite massive cost-cutting and restructures)

Walmart can’t keep milking the UK for dividends, as it has, in the midst of a discounter-led price war, and amid such structural upheaval.

Combined sales total £51bn. Sainsbury’s is paying £2.975bn to Asda parent company Walmart and issuing 1.6 billion new shares for a 42% stake, while Walmart has written off Asda’s debts and pension obligations, taking a £2bn hit in the process. The valuation of Asda at £7.3bn – barely more than the £6.9bn Walmart paid for Asda in 1999 – has already risen with the increase in Sainsbury’s share price.

Again, Brexit is not mentioned in the new article either. What is mentioned at least twice is a discounter price war. Walmart nets a profit and 42% interest in the new company.

Well I wasnt after a political discussion about Brexit when I posted this. But there are currently zero economic studies that think the UK economy will benefit from Brexit.

At the moment the fall in the pound has put inflationary pressure on prices. This will not improve as we lurch closer to exit. Asda is the cheapest of the big 4 and is mainly based in the North where money is tight.

Sainsburys are looking for market share ahead of a supposed Amazon arrival. This fits in with their recent acquisition of Argos.
Walmart see a chance to offload a non core business in a troubled market. Sainsburys will buy the rest off them in a couple of years.
That supposes the regulators wave it through. That isnt a given at the moment.

 

[saveliberty]

Well I wasnt after a political discussion about Brexit when I posted this. But there are currently zero economic studies that think the UK economy will benefit from Brexit.

At the moment the fall in the pound has put inflationary pressure on prices. This will not improve as we lurch closer to exit. Asda is the cheapest of the big 4 and is mainly based in the North where money is tight.

Sainsburys are looking for market share ahead of a supposed Amazon arrival. This fits in with their recent acquisition of Argos.
Walmart see a chance to offload a non core business in a troubled market. Sainsburys will buy the rest off them in a couple of years.
That supposes the regulators wave it through. That isnt a given at the moment.

Yet you felt compelled to add Brexit to your thread title...

Walmart was making money, they will make money in the sale and still have a stake of 42% in the combined business