Tesco prepares for $500 mln Thai property IPO

Tesco plc, Britain's biggest retailer, started pre-marketing on Monday for an initial public share offer (IPO) to raise about $500 by bundling some of its shopping centres in Thailand into a listed fund, Thomson Reuters publication IFR said.

Expected to be Thailand's biggest IPO in more than five years, the sale is scheduled to be priced on Mar. 5. The listed Tesco Lotus Property Fund will initially feature a portfolio of 15 existing shopping centres, each anchored by a hypermarket, IFR said.

The pre-marketing will run for two weeks, with the roadshow slated to start on Feb. 20. The listing will comprise an international and a domestic tranche.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Nomura Holdings , Phatra Securities and RBS are leading the transaction, the report added.