The Issa brothers and TDR Capital hope to complete the merger of their Asda and EG Group forecourts by the end of April.
The deal, said to be worth £12bn, would probably be structured as a takeover of EG UK by Asda. While it would help reduce and refinance EG Group’s £7bn debt burden, the deal will result in more debt being heaped onto the supermarket’s balance sheet. Asda’s net debt already stands at £4.7bn.
Merger talks were revealed in January, which would create a group with 581 supermarkets, 700 petrol forecourts and more than 100 convenience stores.
Former Marks & Spencer boss Lord Rose is likely to chair the combined group.
This month, EG Group announced a $1.5bn (£1.2bn) sale and leaseback deal on 415 stores in the US.
