Deals
Tesco’s Lewis Charts New Course With $4.6 Billion Booker Buy
- CEO Lewis makes M&A debut, entering out-of-home food market
- Offer price is 12% higher than Booker’s closing price Thursday
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Tesco Plc agreed to buy Booker Group Plc for about 3.7 billion pounds ($4.6 billion), pooling the U.K.’s biggest supermarket chain with the No. 1 food wholesaler and gaining access to the fast-growing market to supply restaurants and hotels.
The grocer said it will pay a mixture of cash and shares worth 12 percent more than at Thursday’s close, though the value of the offer quickly rose as Tesco shares surged as much as 11 percent. Booker shares gained as much as 17 percent even as analysts expressed concern that the purchase will attract the scrutiny of regulators.