Tesco Plc agreed to sell most of its Fresh & Easy chain to billionaire Ron Burkle’s Yucaipa investment company, allowing the U.K. grocer to exit the U.S. after a failed six-year foray into the world’s biggest economy.
Yucaipa will acquire more than 150 of Fresh & Easy’s near 200 stores as well as distribution and production facilities, Cheshunt, England-based Tesco said today. Those outlets not included in the transaction will be closed in the coming weeks.
Fresh & Easy has never made a profit since it was built from scratch in 2007. Tesco has invested about 1 billion pounds ($1.6 billion) in the business in that period. Many analysts saw it as a drag on resources at a time when Tesco is struggling to maintain its dominant share of the U.K. grocery market.
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