Tesco agrees to sell South Korean retailing business in $6 billion deal

British retailer Tesco PLC has signed an agreement to sell its South Korean retail business in a deal worth about $6 billion.

A consortium led by South Korean private equity firm MBK Partners said Monday it will buy Homeplus, which is South Korea's second-largest retail chain.

The acquisition is the biggest in South Korea so far this year.

Two Canadian pension funds and Singapore state investment company Temasek are part of the consortium.

Tesco, which reported a full-year loss of $8.5 billion through February, has been restructuring its businesses. It closed 43 unprofitable stores in April.