Zuber Issa sells Asda stake to TDR Capital
Zuber Issa, who owns Asda alongside his brother Mohsin, has agreed to sell his stake in the supermarket to co-owner TDR Capital.
The move means that the private equity firm will own 67.5% of the supermarket while Mohsin Issa and Walmart will hold 22.5% and 10% respectively.
The transaction is set to complete in the third quarter of 2024.
TDR Capital and the Issa brothers took majority ownership of the business in June 2021. Since then, Asda has accelerated its strategy of offering g low prices to customers while expanding into the convenience retail segment.
Stuart Rose, chairman at Asda, said: “On behalf of the board, I welcome TDR’s increased investment in Asda – which is a clear sign of its commitment to the business.
“Asda’s heritage is in delivering great value for customers on a daily basis across its entire proposition from groceries to fashion and food-to-go – and the board has never been more committed to deliver on this promise.
“The board and shareholders continue to put in place the building blocks to position Asda for long-term success and that is good news for colleagues, customers, suppliers and other business partners.”
Gary Lindsay and Tom Mitchell, managing partners of TDR Capital, said: “We first invested into Asda over three years ago, seeing a huge opportunity to cement its position as one of the UK’s leading retail brands.
“As majority owners, we will continue to work closely with the Asda management team and colleagues across the business to support the ambitious strategy, which we believe is the right one to continue to move Asda forward.”
With the divestment of his Asda shares, Zuber Issa will now turn his attention to leading and managing the remaining EG UK forecourt sites that he has personally acquired, and spend more time on charitable endeavours.
Asda is currently undertaking a search to find a permanent chief executive to lead the business in its next phase of growth.
The supermarket recently announced its full year results for the period ending 31 December 2023 in which total sales, excluding fuel, increased by 7.1% to £21.9 billion on the previous year. Adjusted EBITDA after rent was also up, rising by 24% to £1.078 billion.
