Charoen Pokphand Group (CP), one of Thailand’s top retailers, recently won the bid to acquire UK-based Tesco’s Asian massive chain of supermarkets and convenience stores for over $10 billion.
CP beat out the TCC Group Co beer brewing dynasty and Chirathivat family’s Central Group for the deal.
The deal brings the Lotus brand name back under the CP umbrella after being separated for over two decades–CP originally sold the retail chain to the UK retail giant Tesco in 1998.
The merger will be officially be done through the CP Retail Development Co, a Thailand private limited company.
After the deal, CP will now own 87% of Tesco Lotus stores in Thailand and %100 in Malaysia.
The merger, however, has raised red flags to some who think that the deal only furthers the monopolization of Thailand’s retail sector.
As it stands now, CP already owns the entirety of Thailand’s ubiquitous 7-Eleven convenience store empire and its popular Siam Makro supermarket chain.
Before the deal officially goes through, it will have to be reviewed by the Office of Trade Competition Commission (OTCC) who will examine whether it constitutes a market monopoly.
The agency will either issue an approval, approval with conditions, or disapproval of the merger.
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