Former Dixons Boss, US Equity Firm Join dunnhumby Club

In the UK John Browett, a former Tesco executive who also ran high street retailer Dixons, is in talks with private equity firm Apax Partners over a potential bid for dunnhumby, according to Sky News. Separately, the Sunday Times says US equity company Hellman & Friedman are also interested.

Browett, who worked at Tesco until 2007 and was regarded by some as a contender to take over the troubled supermarket giant, recently stepped down as CEO of fashion retailer Monsoon, after a spell in charge at Dixons Retail and a brief encounter with Apple, for whom he fronted up global retail operations. Precise arrangements between Browett and Apax are not known or finalised, and the finance firm is said to be in talks with another former Tesco executive about joining its proposed management team.

Other prospective buyers for dunnhumby include WPP Group / General Atlantic Partners, TPG Capital, Nielsen, Permira, CVC and Clayton Dubilier & Rice - where former Tesco chief exec Sir Terry Leahy is a partner. Reports have also linked software giant Oracle and private equity firms Silver Lake and Warburg Pincus with the sale. According to www.thesundaytimes.co.uk Hellman & Friedman, who did well out of an investment in retail data and marketing firm Catalina, are likely to be another late entrant in the race.

Tesco will also look to sell off its South Korean operation, which trades as Homeplus and could be worth around £4bn, according to reports. The price for dunnhumby was originally reported as around £2bn, but may now be around half that following the dissolution of the firm's JV with US supermarket chain Kroger a month ago.

dunnhumby, which now employs more than 2,000 people in 30 countries, was founded in 1989 by husband and wife team Edwina Dunn and Clive Humby, and developed the vastly successful Tesco Clubcard scheme, allowing innovative analysis of shopper behaviour. The firm is online at www.dunnhumby.com .