Walmart sells its UK supermarket chain Asda to EG-TDR consortium for $8.8 bln

Walmart Inc has agreed to sell its British supermarket chain Asda to private equity group TDR Capital and the founders of petrol station operator EG Group for 6.8 billion pounds ($8.8 billion), it said on Friday.

The deal led by Mohsin and Zuber Issa, the billionaire brothers who founded the petrol station operator EG Group nearly two decades ago, and TDR means Asda will be back under British ownership for the first time since 1999, when Walmart paid 6.7 billion pounds for the business.

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Walmart will retain an equity investment in the business, with an ongoing commercial relationship and a seat on the board. Chief Executive Roger Burnley will continue to lead the company.

The new owners will invest more than 1 billion pounds in the next three years in Asda to keep prices low and to protect its supply chains, it said.