Asda’s new owners, billionaire UK brothers Zuber and Mohsin Issa and TDR Capital are spinning offer the supermarket's petrol forecourts to the Issas’ EG Group for £750mln.
The Issa brothers and TDR completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Asda from Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) at the end of last year in a £6.8bn deal, with the US retail giant still keeping hold of a minority stake.
Plans to take out €840mln of syndicated loan facilities were also announced, plus £2.25bn of senior secured loans notes and £500mln of senior notes, aka bonds.
Mohsin and Zuber Issa reiterated their support for Asda chief executive Roger Burnley and his efforts to “reposition the business to drive long-term growth.
“We are putting in place a robust capital structure to support that growth strategy, and we are confident that external investors will share our belief in Asda’s strong fundamentals and exciting future prospects.”
The brothers argued that bringing the ownership back to the UK “means that strategic decisions will be more closely aligned with colleagues, customers and communities”.
The forecourts sell-off will be subject to clearance from the Competition and Markets Authority, as part of the watchdog’s review of the wider Asda acquisition.