Thailand's PTT withdraws Carrefour offer

PTT Plc, the Thai energy company, said that it had withdrawn its bid for the local assets of Carrefour, the French retail chain, which is trying to get out of its Southeast Asian units. Carrefour assets are estimated to be worth US$1 billion. A spokeswoman for PTT in Bangkok said that stakeholders in the state-run company had decided to drop its bid. After PTT announced that it was bidding for Carrefours assets, the government questioned the move on the grounds that state-run companies were discouraged from competing with private enterprise in the country’s constitution. PTT was bidding for Carrefour’s Thai stores through its subsidiary, PTT Retail Management, which runs the Jiffy convenience stores. (September 23, 2010)