Grocery giant Morrisons is on the brink of sealing a £2.5bn deal with CD&R-owned Motor Fuel Group (MFG) to sell its petrol forecourts.
The retailer is poised to agree to a deal with its Clayton, Dubilier & Rice stablemate MFG to sell its 340-odd petrol forecourt sites, with a formal agreement expected to be announced next month, according to Sky News.
If a deal is sealed, it will mirror an agreement last year between Asda and EG Group – both owned by the Issa brothers and TDR Capital.
Sky said Morrisons is expected to use a “significant chunk” of the £2.5bn to pay down a portion of its £5.7bn debt.
It would also allow the grocer to invest in its wholesale and convenience store offerings.
US-based private equity firm CD&R completed its £7bn takeover of Morrisons in 2021. The deal was scrutinised by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) because of CD&R’s existing ownership of MFG.
In the end, the CMA ruled that the sale of 87 of MFG’s UK forecourts would alleviate its concerns.
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