Walmart Sells Asda To Billionaire British Brothers And TDR For $8.8bn

The British billionaire Issa brothers and private equity group TDR Capital have agreed to buy the British supermarket chain Asda from Walmart for an enterprise value of $8.8 billion and plan to roll out more smaller stores.

The deal will enable Mohsin and Zuber Issa, who founded petrol station operator EG Group nearly two decades ago, to take Asda back under British ownership for the first time since 1999, when Walmart paid £6.7 billion for the business.

The new owners want to drive growth at Britain’s third-biggest supermarket chain by expanding its presence into smaller neighbourhood shops to add to its large supermarket format, bringing it more in line with competitors Tesco and Sainsbury’s which offer both.

ESM