The Issa brothers' EG Group petrol forecourt business has added to its acquisition spree by purchasing Cooplands, Britain's second-largest bakery chain.
EG Group, owned by Zuber and Mohsin Issa and private equity firm TDR Capital, said on Monday it has acquired CS Food Group Holdings Limited, which trades as Cooplands.
Cooplands operates three bakeries and runs about 180 stores and cafes, predominantly in northern England. It employs over 1,600 people and is the country's second-largest bakery chain after Greggs.
EG bought the LEON fast food restaurant chain in May.
Platform To Diversify
It said the transaction "will provide a platform to diversify the Cooplands brand into the transient petrol forecourt and retail convenience store channel, alongside the bakery chain’s traditional store formats, through EG Group’s extensive UK network."
Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
The brothers and TDR completed their purchase of a majority stake in Asda from Walmart in February in a deal valuing the supermarket group at £6.8 billion ($9.2 billion).
Then in a separate deal, EG Group agreed to buy Asda's 323 petrol forecourts for £750 million.
That deal is still to complete.
Media reports have linked EG with either a trade sale or a public listing of its shares.
News by Reuters edited by Donna Ahern, Checkout. For more A Brands stories click here. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
