Tesco's Dunnhumby ends exclusive JV in U.S. ahead of possible sale

LONDON, April 27 (Reuters) - Dunnhumby, the customer data business which has been put up for sale by British retailer Tesco (Xetra: 852647 - news) , said it was free to work with new clients in the United States, in a move which could make it more attractive to potential buyers.

Dunnhumby and its U.S. partner, The Kroger Co (NYSE: KR - news) , said on Monday they had agreed to change their exclusive joint venture deal, enabling Dunnhumby to work with other retailers and consumer goods companies in North America.

Tesco, Britain's biggest retailer, controls Dunnhumby but is looking to sell all or some of the business, as part of a drive by its new boss Dave Lewis to slash costs and sell assets to mend group finances.

Analysts say Dunnhumby, which gathers and analyses data from almost 1 billion shoppers globally to help companies create customer loyalty and personalisation programmes, could be valued at up to 2 billion pounds ($3.1 billion).

Kroger said that as part of the deal it would take on a licence to use Dunnhumby's technology and retain 500 staff to continue to find customer insights in its customer data. Under the deal, Dunnhumby will no longer have access to Kroger's data.

Stuart Aitken, who previously led DunnhumbyUSA, will become chief executive officer of 84.51°, the name Kroger is giving to the former Dunnhumby business.

A spokesman for Tesco declined to provide any financial details of the new arrangement between Dunnhumby and Kroger.

Sources close to the matter have said British advertising group WPP (LSE: WPP.L - news) has bid for a majority stake in Dunnhumby, with other interested parties believed to include private equity firms.

"This agreement's a precondition, really, to moving onto the next stage of exploring the options for Dunnhumby," Shore Capital (Other OTC: CGHC - news) analyst Clive Black said.

($1 = 0.6555 pounds) (Reporting by Sarah Young; Editing by Mark Pottre)