Asda co-owner Zuber Issa close to securing a deal to sell his £500m stake in the supermarket to its private equity backer TDR Capital.
Issa is understood in the final stages of negotiations to dispose of his 22.5% holding in the grocery giant, Bloomberg reported.
If successful, the deal will give TDR Capital a majority stake in Asda and further unwind the business ties between Issa and his brother, Mohsin.
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Zuber Issa began talks about selling his stake in Asda in Febraury, and earlier this month, it was reported he was planning to step back as co-chief executive officer of EG Group.
His brother, Mohsin, also intends to step back from the day-to-day control of Asda to focus on running EG Group. A search for a new CEO at Asda is already under way, with headhunters from Spencer Stuart conducting a search, according to people familiar with the matter.
Once the transaction is complete, Walmart will retain its 10% in the supermarket, Mohsin will keep his 22.5% holding and TDR will own the rest.
The grocer is experted to report a return to profit later this month when it publishes its full-year accounts.
An Asda spokesperson told Retail Gazette: “We made strong progress against our strategy in 2023 with significant investment in the business to drive long-term sustainable growth, while continuing to deleverage and repay debt.”
Asda and TDR Capital declined to comment.
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