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Issa brothers step closer to Asda buyout

In order to finalise the debt-fueled takeover, Zuber and Moshin Issa have agreed to sell 27 of their 395 EG Group petrol filling stations

The Issa brothers are a step closer to completing their £6.8bn Asda buyout, having offered to address concerns put forward by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

In order to finalise the debt-fueled takeover, Zuber and Moshin Issa have agreed to sell 27 of their 395 EG Group petrol filling stations.

The competition concerns were raised on a local basis, with Asda and TDR Capital, the buyers’ private equity vehicle, overlapping in terms of operations in 37 areas across the UK.

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The CMA launched the inquiry to understand whether the takeover would create a “substantial lessening of competition”.

However, following the “local competition concerns” the CMA now said that it has “reasonable grounds to believe the proposed remedies might be accepted”.

It added: “The CMA considers that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the undertakings offered jointly by Mr Zuber Issa, Mr Mohsin Issa and TDR Capital LLP, or a modified version of them, might be accepted by the CMA under the Enterprise Act 2002.”

According to the Guardian, EG Group is buying Asda’s petrol stations for £750m, with the expected proceeds from the group’s 27 petrol station sales used to pay off loans taken to finance the takeover.

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