Danish shipper sells UK supermarket unit to Asda

By JAN M. OLSEN Asscoiated Press Writer

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) - Danish container shipping and oil group A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S has sold its British supermarket chain Netto to Wal-Mart subsidiary Asda Stores Ltd. for 778 million pounds ($1.1 billion), it said Thursday.

The group said its subsidiary Dansk Supermarked A/S agreed to sell Netto Foodstores Ltd. to Asda as part of an effort to focus on the development of its business in Denmark, Sweden, Germany and Poland.

Asda said it will convert the 193 Netto stores in Britain into Asda stores and integrate them into its new supermarket division for units smaller than 25,000 square feet (2,250 square meters).

The company said the acquisition is part of its strategy to satisfy demand for its stores in a broader range of U.K. communities and its commitment to its smaller stores division.

"The creation of new in-store jobs in a tough economy will also be a welcome boost in scores of communities across the UK," Asda CEO Andy Clarke said in a statement.

The deal is subject to regulatory approval in Britain. Asda said it expects to complete the transaction after approval from the Office of Fair Trading later this summer.

Dansk Supermarked CEO Erling Jensen said the Netto stores in the British branch have been "profitable."

"We had no 'for sale' sign on our shops in Britain as such but we got an offer, a really good offer," Jensen told Danish broadcaster TV2.

In Copenhagen, A.P. Moller-Maersk shares jumped 4.56 percent to 2,000 kroner ($329.60).

Dansk Supermarked, which is Denmark's largest retail group, will own more than 1,100 stores with 40,000 employees after the transaction.

A.P. Moller-Maersk controls 68 percent of Dansk Supermarket. The rest is held by Danish retail group Salling.

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