EG Group is chosen as the preferred bidder to take over Asda

Euro Garages parent company EG Group is the leading contender to take over Asda in a £6.5bn deal.

According to Sky News, a consortium led by Mohsin and Zuber Issa, the bosses of EG Group, and TDR Capital, the London-based private equity firm, has been selected by Asda’s owner, the American retailer Walmart, as the preferred bidder for the supermarket group.

Walmart has been seeking to sell Asda for some time and has already had a merger with Sainsbury’s vetoed on competition grounds.

A formal agreement could still be several days or weeks away, according to Sky News, and any deal would be expected to see Walmart retain a minority stake in Asda.

The news comes shortly after it was revealed that Asda was trialling its ‘Asda on the Move’ convenience brand, offering fresh food and essentials from three EG Group fuel station forecourts in the Midlands.

Commenting on the potential deal, PRA chairman Brian Madderson said: “I can see a range of interesting possibilities for an EG-Asda tie-up. EG Group have had a meteoric rise – and specialised in providing roadside retail to the consumer.”

Nick Bywater, associate director of Christie & Co said: “The bid for Asda is a logical move for the Issa brothers and signals a continued focus on convenience retail. With profits from forecourt convenience increasingly outstripping profits from petrol and diesel sales, what better way to future proof your forecourt business than to fully integrate it with a supermarket business that has the third largest grocery market share in the UK.”

Walmart has been seeking to sell Asda for some time and has already had a merger with Sainsbury’s vetoed on competition grounds.

A formal agreement could still be several days or weeks away, according to Sky News, and any deal would be expected to see Walmart retain a minority stake in Asda.

The news comes shortly after it was revealed that Asda was trialling its ‘Asda on the Move’ convenience brand, offering fresh food and essentials from three EG Group fuel station forecourts in the Midlands.

Commenting on the potential deal, PRA chairman Brian Madderson said: “I can see a range of interesting possibilities for an EG-Asda tie-up. EG Group have had a meteoric rise – and specialised in providing roadside retail to the consumer.”

Nick Bywater, associate director of Christie & Co said: “The bid for Asda is a logical move for the Issa brothers and signals a continued focus on convenience retail. With profits from forecourt convenience increasingly outstripping profits from petrol and diesel sales, what better way to future proof your forecourt business than to fully integrate it with a supermarket business that has the third largest grocery market share in the UK.”