Issa brothers consider £10bn Asda and EG Group merger

By Tony Corbin in Industry News 23rd January 2023

The Issa brothers, who own Asda, are said to be exploring a merger of the supermarket and their UK petrol forecourts business, EG Group, in a deal that would create a retail giant worth more than £10bn.

The combination would create a group with 581 supermarkets, 700 petrol forecourts and more than 100 convenience stores in a bid to better refinance EG Group’s current £7bn debt.

The news comes after it was revealed that the Issa brothers are also considering a £1bn sale of part of their US petrol station empire.

Asda opened its second Asda Express convenience store in December and plans to open 300 more by the end of 2026.

EG Group is jointly owned by the Issa brothers and TDR Capital, the private equity firm they partnered with to acquire Asda in 2021.

The company reported “continued resilience” in its trading update in November.