Czech Finance Minister Andrej Babiš is reportedly in talks to buy Tesco’s Czech and Slovak network through his investment fund Hartenberg. Babiš earlier denied that he was interested in a takeover. Aktuality.sk writes that that Diligentia, which operates the Moja Samoška grocery store network in Slovakia, will partner with Hartenberg in the acquisition. Jozef Janov, the fund’s managing partner, declined to comment on the speculation. Tesco operates 200 stores, petrol stations and shopping centers in the Czech Republic and has an additional 150 stores in Slovakia. The struggling UK based retailer reported a GBP 6.4bn loss last year.
