LONDON (AP) — Tesco PLC, the largest grocer in the United Kingdom, substantially boosted its presence in South Korea with $1.87 billion acquisition of 36 Homever stores, including debt.

Tesco would not break out how much of the purchase price was made up of debt.

The acquisition of the former Carrefour stores make up three million square feet of sales space and most of it will be converted to Tesco Homeplus stores within the year.

Tesco says 20 of the stores are in or around Seoul and Gyeonggi, the most populous province in South Korea.

"This acquisition of high quality assets is an important strategic move, which will allow us to accelerate our growth in this key market and deliver a much stronger offer for customers as we convert the stores to Homeplus," said Terry Leahy, Tesco's chief executive.