E-Land says in talk to sell stores to Tesco S.Korea unit

SEOUL, May 14 (Reuters) - Unlisted South Korean retailer E-Land on Wednesday said it was in talks to sell 35 discount stores to British retailer Tesco Plc's (TSCO.L: Quote, Profile, Research) South Korean unit.

"Samsung Tesco is a prime candidate and a deal is imminent," an E-Land spokesman told Reuters, referring to the Tesco unit. He declined to give further details on the deal's price and timing.

An earlier local report said E-Land was selling the stores to Tesco for 2.3 trillion won ($2.2 billion).

A spokeswoman for Samsung Tesco had no immediate comment.

E-Land bought most of those outlets from France's Carrefour (CARR.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) in 2006 for $1.85 billion.

($1=1045.4 Won)

(Reporting by Park Ju-min and Rhee So-eui; editing by Keiron Henderson)