Wesfarmers is poised to swoop on beaten-down businesses in need of new capital after ruling out returning more than $2 billion in cash to shareholders from the sale of most of its stake in Coles.

Wesfarmers confirmed it sold a 5.2 per cent stake in Coles on Monday night for $15.39 a share, raising $1.06 billion and booking a pre-tax profit of $130 million.