The sale of Asda forecourts to EG Group has been terminated after the two parties were able to share commercial information with each other.
In an update on the transaction, the two said the sharing of commercial information, which had previously been restricted under competition law, had resulted in several changes to the financial evaluation of the deal.
As a result, EG and Asda had decided to no longer proceed with the transaction, which was terminated as of today (18 October).
EG’s agreement to buy assets of the Asda forecourt business was announced on 3 February this year. However, commercial information could not be shared before the Competition & Markets Authority gave the green light to the acquisition of Asda by TDR Capital and EG owners Mohsin and Zuber Issa in June.
The sale of Asda forecourts to EG for £750m was part of a finance package underpinning TDR and the Issa brothers’ £6.8bn acquisition of Asda from Walmart. The £750m needed by TDR and the brothers is now to come from £500m in debt for Asda and £250m from the supermarket’s cash reserves.
The update said other key commercial initiatives between EG and Asda were already well underway. They included plans to introduce foodservice at Asda locations and the rollout of ‘Asda on the Move’ convenience stores across EG’s UK forecourts.
“These plans remain unchanged, and the company continues to anticipate synergies as a result of its growing relationship with Asda,” EG said.
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