EG Group is in talks to sell some of its UK assets to co-founder Zuber Issa in what the petrol forecourt business told investors was an attempt to reduce its debt pile.
The group – co-owned by Asda’s billionaire brother owners and private equity firm TDR Capital – told investors on Monday that it “continued to have active discussions” with Zuber about offloading some assets in the UK and Ireland and planned to strike a deal “in the near term”.
“The net cash proceeds would be used to further repay debt,” according to a presentation seen by the Financial Times.
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A possible deal could neaten the division of assets between the brothers, with Zuber focusing on EG Group while Mohsin concentrates on Asda.
It follows speculation last month that Zuber was looking to sell his 22.5% stake in the supermarket chain and could use the proceeds of the transaction to buy out Mohsin’s EG stake.
The group has been offloading a number of its assets in the past year, including offloading its UK business to Asda as well as a $1.5bn sale and leaseback deal of its US east coast property portfolio, as it looks to bring down its debt pile.
The petrol forecourt business told investors it had also slashed its investment into growth by 37% last year to £191m in what executives termed a “controlled reduction” to maximise liquidity.
EG is understood to have paid down its debt pile from £7.89bn ($10bn) at the start of 2023 to £4.73bn ($6bn) by the end.
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