British supermarket group Asda said on Tuesday that it is acquiring petrol station operator EG Group's UK and Ireland business to create a company with combined revenues of nearly £30 billion (€34.62 billion).
Asda, which is owned by the Issa brothers, investment funds managed by TDR Capital LLP and Walmart, said that the move would see the company acquire 350 petrol filling station (PFS) sites and over 1,000 food-to-go locations – through an affiliate of its parent company, Bellis Acquisition Company 3 Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Asda Group.
EG Group will retain approximately 30 PFS sites in the UK for wider group development and which will not form part of the transaction, it added.
Creating A 'Consumer Champion'
In a statement, Stuart Rose, chair of Asda, said, “Asda’s acquisition of EG UK and Ireland will create a consumer champion like the UK has never seen.
"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.”
Grocery Market Share
Asda, which trails market leader Tesco and Sainsbury's, has a 13.9% share of Britain's grocery market, according to researcher Kantar.
Its stated goal is to overtake Sainsbury's and become Britain's No. 2 grocer. Sainsbury's has a 14.8% share.
In March, Asda reported a 24% fall in annual earnings.
Read More: Asda Owners To Announce £10bn Merger With EG UK
News by Reuters, additional reporting and edited by Donna Ahern, Checkout. For more retail stories, click here. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
