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Sarah Townsend
Blackburn-based retailer EG Group has offered up 27 of its petrol station forecourts across the country as part of its takeover of the supermarket giant, to quell any residual worries the Competition & Markets Authority has about the deal.
The Government’s capital markets regulator is investigating EG’s proposed acquisition of a majority stake in Asda Group in a consortium with private equity firm TDR Capital – a £6.8bn deal agreed last October but still awaiting regulatory approval.
EG, whose subsidiary Euro Garages has more than 5,200 petrol stations across the UK and Europe, is owned by billionaire brothers Zuber and Mohsin Issa, who also also own a substantial regional property portfolio through investment vehicles such as Monte Blackburn, which is developing the Frontier Park logistics scheme in Lancashire.
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Bellis’ purchase of Asda raises some competition concerns
The Issa Brothers and private equity firm TDR Capital purchased Asda through jointly owned company Bellis. The Issa Brothers and TDR Capital also own EG Group, which operates 395 petrol stations in the UK, while Asda owns 323. Many of Asda’s and EG’s petrol stations are located in the same parts of the UK and the investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) therefore focused on these overlaps.
The CMA has found that the deal raises local competition concerns in relation to the supply of road fuel in 36 areas across the UK and the supply of a specific type of fuel – called auto-LPG – in a further area. It is therefore concerned that the merger could lead to higher prices for motorists in these locations.
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