Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Ropes & Gray and Paul Hastings are representing a consortium led by Asia-based buyout firm MBK Partners on a $6 billion acquisition of Homeplus, the Korean business of British retailer Tesco Plc.

In a deal announced on Monday, MBK Partners, alongside the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and Singaporean sovereign investor Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd., agreed to pay $6 billion for the 1,075-store supermarket chain, Tesco's largest operations outside the U.K., after defeating a competing consortium led by KKR & Co. This is the largest ever private equity deal out of Korea, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The deal will boost Tesco's balance sheet and reduce the company's debt by $6.4 billion. The company reported a $9.7 billion pre-tax loss in the fiscal year ended in February. Tesco will use most of the proceeds to repay bonds and commercial papers that will mature in the next 18 months, according to a regulatory filing.