LONDON - Tesco PLC, Britain's largest retailer, has made a deal with Japanese retailer Aeon which will lead to the British company's exit from Japan.
Tesco announced Monday it will sell half of its shares in its Japanese venture to Aeon for a nominal sum. Tesco will then invest about 40 million pounds ($63 million) to finance restructuring of the joint venture. After that, Tesco says it will have no further financial exposure to the Japanese business.
Tesco entered Japan in 2003 when it bought C2 Network. The business how runs 117 small stores, primarily under the Tsurakame, Tesco and Tesco Express branches in the Greater Tokyo area.
Aeon, which operates 1,200 supermarkets in Japan, is the nation's largest retailer.
