T-Mobile and Sprint, Walmart, Marathon and Andeavor: CEO Daily for April 30, 2018

Walmart U.K.

Walmart is getting rid of Asda, its longstanding British business. The unit will merge with rival Sainsbury’s, creating the largest supermarket chain in the country, with revenues of around $70 billion. Walmart brought in a new international business chief, Judith McKenna, a few months back. At the moment, Walmart’s non-U.S. locations account for more than half its stores, but only around a third of its revenues. Fortune

Marathon and Andeavor

Marathon Petroleum intends to shell out over $23 billion for pipeline and refining firm Andeavor. Ohio-based Marathon is the U.S.’s second-biggest refiner and owner of the Speedway convenience store chain, and it generally operates in the east of the country. Texas’s Andeavor, formerly known as Tesoro, operates mostly in the west. The combined operation will be able to process around 3.1 million barrels a day, Marathon says. WSJ

WPP Future

Martin Sorrell may be out as head of WPP, the ad giant he founded, but the company is not looking at a full break-up, even though some see it as unmanageable by anyone else. Joint chief operating officer Mark Read said he would consider a restructure, though. WPP’s latest quarterly results are better than analysts had expected, so its shares climbed by as much as 9% in this morning’s trading. BBC

Facebook’s Cambodian Woes

A political opponent of Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Sen wants Facebook to hand over information that might help him fight legal claims against him by the government. Facebook is resisting the request, but Sam Rainsy’s lawyer today will ask a San Francisco court to compel the social network to comply. Rainsy claims Hun Sen and his regime have bought Facebook ads to distribute propaganda against him. Facebook claims he’s on a “fishing expedition for material to use in his longstanding campaign against the prime minister of Cambodia.” Bloomberg

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