M&S sale of US business breaks down
Marks & Spencer have announced talks to sell its US-based Kings Supermarkets has broken down.
It is understood they ended when D'Agostino Supermarkets failed to raise the finance needed for the $160m (€160m) deal in time for the completion deadline on November 30.
An M&S statement said: "Marks & Spencer has terminated the sale contract with D'Agostino Supermarkets as the deadline for completion expired on November 30.
"Marks & Spencer is now in the process of considering other options for the sale of Kings."
The November 30 deadline marks the end of D'Agostino's exclusivity period for the talks which began in July.
It can continue to negotiate with M&S, but the retailer is also now free to talk to other parties.
A spokesman said the group was "disappointed" that talks had failed, but added that it was expecting interest from other parties. He said: "It is fundamentally a very good business."
M&S has been trying to sell Kings, the last of its US businesses, for nearly two years.
Previous talks with Gristede's Foods also broken down, although the group is understood to still be interested in acquiring Kings.
Kings operates 29 stores mainly in New Jersey and employs around 2,700 staff.
M&S bought it in August 1998 for $110.3m (€110m) from the Bildner family in New Jersey.
