Asda says sales up 6.9% in Christmas period

Asda, the British supermarket group that Walmart (NYSE:WMT) is selling, said on Wednesday its sales rose 6.9% year-on-year in the eight weeks to Dec. 24.

In October, the Issa brothers and private equity group TDR Capital agreed to buy a majority holding in Asda from Walmart in a deal giving it an enterprise value of $8.8 billion.

The brothers and TDR said on Wednesday they expected the deal to complete this month.