TDR, private investors to acquire Asda for £6.8bn

The private investors involved in the consortium are the Issa brothers, the founders and co-CEOs of EG Group, a convenience and forecourts retailer.

The consortium will acquire a majority stake, while Walmart, the vendor of the company, will retain an equity investment in the business, with a seat on the board. Asda's existing management team, led by Roger Burnley, will stay on with the company.

TDR is currently investing from its fourth-generation vehicle, which closed on €3bn in March 2017 and was 41% deployed as of March 2020.

Walmart first began exploring alternative exit options for Asda in February 2019, following the opposed ruling of the Competition and Markets Authority to the merger of Sainsbury's and Asda, which would have valued the asset at £7.3bn. In the Rothschild-run sale process, CVC and KKR were initially reported as interested in the asset.

The process was delayed in April 2020 and resumed in July, with bids submitted by Apollo and Lone Star, in addition to the winning bidders.

Following the transaction, Asda will invest in its omnichannel offering and focus more on sourcing food from UK farmers.

Company
Headquartered in Leeds and founded in 1949, the company runs a supermarket chain in the UK that employs 165,000 people. It recorded revenues of £22.9bn for 2018.

People
TDR Capital – Gary Kindsay (partner).

Advisers
Vendor – Rothschild (corporate finance).

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• Topics
• Buyouts
• UK / Ireland
• Consumer
• United Kingdom
• Carve-out
• Rothschild