The news comes after Walmart announced that they were looking for a buyer for their stake in the supermarket chain.
Walmart has been in talks with a number of potential investors to sell their stake in the UK based supermarket. The American giant plans to forge new alliances with a number of local partners in markets such as India and Asia to expand their presence into international presence.
One of the potential buyers for the Walmart stake is brothers, Mohsin and Zuber Issa who built petrol company EG Group from one site into an empire with 5900 branches in nine markets. The Issa brothers revitalised the petrol industry, rather than offering a small selection of pre-packaged foods, the brothers struck franchise agreements with brands such as Starbucks, Subway and KFC to create a captive market at their petrol stations. The pair now own Europe’s largest forecourt operator, Euro Garages.
After solidifying their position in this market, the brothers now want to expand further, and have entered the bidding war to purchase Walmart’s stake in Asda, with a purchase price of around £6.5bn expected. It is thought that Walmart was wooed by the Issas’ entrepreneurial flair and the potential to put Asda convenience stores in EG’s petrol stations. The pair is touted to be the preferred bidder for Asda.
