Large U.S. retailer Best Buy has sold off its Carphone Warehouse stake, exiting Europe after a failed attempt to expand outside of its home base.
The company sold its 50 percent stake for $775 million, about 37 percent of what it paid for it 5 years ago.
"The sale allows management to eliminate the European distraction, as it has been a much-debated topic in the investment community for some time," JP Morgan analyst Christopher Horvers said. "It also fully unwinds an ill-timed conquest into Europe."
Best Buy paid $2.1 billion in 2008 for the 50 percent stake in the independent mobile seller's retail operations. The company had aspirations to put Best Buy stores across Europe, but that plan did not work out, thanks in great part to the ongoing recession in the Euro nations.
"The sale allows management to eliminate the European distraction, as it has been a much-debated topic in the investment community for some time," JP Morgan analyst Christopher Horvers said. "It also fully unwinds an ill-timed conquest into Europe."
Best Buy paid $2.1 billion in 2008 for the 50 percent stake in the independent mobile seller's retail operations. The company had aspirations to put Best Buy stores across Europe, but that plan did not work out, thanks in great part to the ongoing recession in the Euro nations.
