BY Richard Summerfield
British supermarket chain Asda has agreed to acquire the UK operations of petrol station giant EG Group, which is also owned by the Issa brothers and TDR Capital, in a £2.27bn deal.
Under the terms of the deal, Asda will acquire 350 petrol stations and more than 1000 food-to-go sites. The company plans to roll out the Asda Express convenience format across the EG UK and Ireland estate.
Asda intends to invest more than £150m within the next three years to “fully integrate the combined business” with shareholders, providing £45m of additional equity to fund the transaction. Upon completion, the merged business will have almost £30bn sales with EG UK and Ireland contributing £195m earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to the group after rents. Going forward, Asda expects to realise synergies of £100m over the next three years. The company also expects to find more than £100m of working capital benefits due to its larger scale.
“Asda’s acquisition of EG UK and Ireland will create a consumer champion like the UK has never seen,” said Stuart Rose, chair of Asda. “Throughout my career in retail – one thing has always been true, that meeting the evolving needs of customers is the route to growth. This transaction is all about driving growth by bringing Asda’s heritage in value to even more communities and accelerating the growth of its convenience retail business.”
“This transaction with Asda represents an important strategic step for EG Group,” said Zuber Issa co-founder and co-chief executive of EG Group. “Following this sale, EG Group will benefit from a significantly strengthened balance sheet, supporting the continued roll out of its successful convenience retail, fuel and foodservice strategy and drive innovation to transform the consumer experience. This includes the ongoing investment and expansion of our EV charging business, evpoint, as well as hydrogen and other sustainable fuel retail infrastructure, which we continue to see as a significant future opportunity.”
“The sale of the EG UK&I business to Asda makes strategic sense for both parties and will enable EG Group to accelerate its growth in key markets including Europe, the US and Australia,” said Gary Lindsay, managing partner at TDR Capital. “The Group has developed a successful blueprint in the UK for developing one-stop shop sites which combine convenience retail, fuel and foodservice and there are significant value creation opportunities from rolling out this model, across the global estate. The Group remains at the leading edge of developing the forecourts of the future, and its ongoing development of alternative fuels and EV charging infrastructure.”
The deal, which is expected to close in Q4 2023, will be funded by £450m of equity from Asda’s shareholders, including its former owner, US retail giant Walmart, £770m of term loan debt and around £1.1bn from property-related transactions, including the sale and leaseback of some of its stores.
News: UK's Asda to buy EG petrol stations unit in $2.9-bln deal