Sources told Bloomberg that Thai billionaire Dhanin Chearavanont had joined the bidding war for the ParknShop chain of Hutchison Whampoa. The billionaire's Charoen Pokphand Group submitted its first-round bid this month for the Hong Kong supermarket chain. ParknShop is owned by the conglomerate of Chinese billionaire Li Ka-shing.
The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because the discussions were private. They also revealed that some of those who gave their offers were China Resources, KKR & Co., TPG Capital, Japan's Aeon Co. and Woolworths Ltd. One source said TPG Capital had already withdrawn from the process.
A person familiar with the transaction also said this month that the price tag for the supermarket unit was pegged between USD 3 billion to USD 4 billion.
Earlier, China Resources said it could join forces with British multinational retailer Tesco to bid for ParknShop. The Hong Kong-based grocer posted revenues of HKD 21.7 billion in 2012. It held 33% of the grocery market in Hong Kong last year, second only to Wellcome, of which had a 40% share.
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