A group of investors led by homegrown buyout fund MBK Partners signed a 7.2 trillion won ($5.98 billion) deal to purchase Tesco’s Korean unit Homeplus, the companies said Monday.

It marks the biggest deal in the country’s merger and acquisition history.

The MBK-led consortium, formed in partnership with two Canadian pension funds and Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek, struck the stock purchase agreement with Tesco in Hong Kong to buy a 100 percent stake in Homeplus, Korea’s second-largest supermarket chain.

With the mega deal, Homeplus will be owned by a South Korean investor for the first time in 16 years.

The consortium pledged to invest some 1 trillion won in Homeplus over the next two years. It also said it would retain all current employees without a “contrived” restructuring.

Homeplus chief executive officer Do Sung-hwan also stressed that the takeover deal would not result in job losses.

“The contract only changes our shareholder. There will be no alteration on our customers, subcontractors, stores and employees,” Do said.

The announcement came less than a week after MBK was chosen as a preferred bidder, beating KKR and Affinity Equity Partners on Sept. 2.

Unionized workers at Homeplus have been voicing concerns about possible restructuring and job losses.

“MBK Partners will closely cooperate with Homeplus workers, labor unions and other stakeholders to develop a productive working relationship,” the firm’s CEO Kim Kwang-il said.

Selling its largest business outside the U.K. will help Tesco to slash debt and raise funds to help turn around its struggling domestic business.

The troubled supermarket group reported a full-year loss of $8.5 billion through February, and has been restructuring its businesses. It closed 43 unprofitable U.K. stores in April.

Homeplus’ discount stores generated annual revenue of 8.6 trillion won in Korea through February. It runs 140 hypermarkets, 327 supermarket stores and 327 convenience stores.

By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)