Tesco sells Thailand, Malaysia businesses for £8bn

Tesco said it was selling its Thailand and Malaysia businesses to Thai conglomerate CP Group for $10.6bn (£8.2bn) and planned to return £5bn to shareholders via a special dividend.

The supermarket giant said it would also cut debt through a £2.5bn pension contribution, eliminating the fund's deficit and “significantly" reducing the prospect of having to make further such payments in future.