NEW YORK: Walmart Inc. confirmed it’s mulling an initial public offering for its Asda unit after UK antitrust regulators blocked a planned merger with rival J Sainsbury Plc.
“While we are not rushing into anything, I want you to know that we are seriously considering a path to an IPO,” Judith McKenna, the company’s international chief, told employees at an internal event in Leeds, England, on Tuesday, according to a summary of the event provided by the company. She said any preparations for going public would “take years.”
Regulators’ decision last month to block the 7.3 billion-pound (US$9.4 billion) deal to merge Asda and Sainsbury threw a wrench in the world’s largest retailer’s plans to reshape its international operations. Bloomberg News reported at the time that Walmart was exploring options for the unit, with an IPO one of the alternatives on the table.