By Mark Kleinman, City Editor
The private equity giant TPG is among a pack of suitors circling the marketing services group behind the rise of Tesco's pioneering Clubcard loyalty scheme.
Sky News has learnt that TPG, which is one of the world's biggest buyout firms, made an approach several months ago to Tesco about acquiring Dunnhumby, a wholly owned subsidiary that bankers say is worth well over £2bn.
Tesco is understood to be examining its continued ownership of Dunnhumby as part of a broader review of its business being led by Dave Lewis, its new chief executive.
The review was already under way prior to Tesco's shock disclosure last month that it had identified a £250m overstatement of its half-year profits, prompting the suspension of several executives and a share price slump which wiped billions of pounds from its value.
The crisis at Tesco has raised questions about the leadership of its chairman, Sir Richard Broadbent, and triggered investigations by the Financial Conduct Authority and Financial Reporting Council.
The results of a probe ordered by Mr Lewis could also lead to a further inquiry by the Serious Fraud Office.
On Monday, Tesco parachuted in a former chief executive of Ikea, the Swedish flatpack furniture retailer, and the current boss of catering group Compass, to counter accusations that its board lacked retail experience.
TPG's enquiry about a purchase of Dunnhumby came while Mr Lewis's predecessor, Philip Clarke, was still running Tesco prior to his ousting in July, according to a source.
While the UK's biggest retailer is understood to have rejected that initial approach, with no formal talks having taken place, insiders said that TPG remained interesting in the business.
Other private equity firms and big marketing services holding companies are also expected to join the bidding if a formal auction gets underway.
Some bankers believe that Dunnhumby, which is one of the world's leading providers of analysis of consumer behaviour, could be worth up to £3bn.
Dunnhumby was a crucial architect of Tesco's Clubcard scheme and the role it played in catapulting the supermarket chain into a market-leading position in the UK during the 1990s.
After Tesco took full control of the business in 2004, Dunnhumby expanded rapidly, signing up retailers around the world as clients and now counting companies such as Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble and Shell as customers.
Dunnhumby was founded by Edwina Dunn and Clive Humby, a husband-and-wife team now regarded as having created one of the UK's most successful business start-ups of the last 25 years.
Earlier this year, Dunnhumby bought Sociomantic Labs, an advertising technology firm, for a price reported to be in the region of $200m.
TPG has a long track record of investing in retail business and supporting industries with past holdings including stakes in Debenhams, the department store chain, and Victoria Plumb, the bathroom products retailer.
Mr Lewis's review has already led him to conclude that Blinkbox, the video-streaming service, has no future at Tesco.
The grocer's businesses in Central Europe and Asia, its garden centres group in the UK, and its banking arm, are also candidates to be offloaded, analysts say.
Tesco and TPG declined to comment on Monday.
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