Private equity titans go into battle for Asda

Two retail veterans are poised to do battle for Asda as a £6.5bn bidding war hots up. Former Debenhams boss Rob Templeman is squaring off against previous Asda chief executive Paul Mason in a race to buy the supermarket from its US owner Walmart, according to Sky News. Mr Templeman has been lined up to oversee an offer from private equity company Apollo Global Management. Meanwhile, rival bidder Lone Star Funds has brought in Mr Mason to take charge of its bid. It comes as Walmart restarts