French retailer Casino has hired Deutsche Bank to advise on a potential bid for Carrefour’s Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand assets, sources told Reuters.
Carrefour has put up its Southeast Asian assets for sale at a potential price of $1 billion, according to sources with knowledge of the deal.
Carrefour wants to sell its units in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand to help it focus on core markets where it holds leading positions.
Casino “is serious about” bidding for the Carrefour business, said one of the sources with knowledge of the deal.
The sources asked not to be named because the deal is not public.
Casino Group and Deutsche declined to comment.
Casino is France’s fifth-ranked food retailer behind Carrefour, Leclerc, Intermarche and Auchan.
On Thursday, Casino posted forecast-beating first-half profits and kept its 2010 financial goals as strength in emerging markets like Brazil offset weakness at home.
First round bids for the Carrefour assets are due in early Seeptember, sources familiar with the deal said.
Leading Thai conglomerate Berli Jucker said earlier this month it was keen to bid for Carrefour’s Southeast Asian operations.
Singapore-listed Dairy Farm, which owns Cold Storage and Giant superstores in Singapore and Malaysia, and Britain’s Tesco are also seen as potential bidders sources said.
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