Owners of UK supermarket Asda and EG Group considering merger - The Times

LONDON (Reuters) - British supermarket chain Asda could be merged with petrol forecourts business EG Group under plans being explored by the owners of both companies, the London-based Times reported on Saturday.

The combination would create a retail giant worth between 11 billion pounds ($13.6 billion) and 13 billion pounds which would have more than 581 supermarkets, 700 petrol forecourts and 100 convenience stores in Britain, the newspaper said.

Brothers Zuber and Mohsin Issa and London-based private equity group TDR Capital have owned EG Group together since 2016. They later bought Asda.

Talks over merging the two businesses come ahead of a refinancing of EG Group, which has 7 billion pounds of debt due in 2025, according to the report.

Asda declined to comment on rumour or speculation. TDR Capital did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Issa brothers could not immediately be reached for comment.

($1 = 0.8069 pounds)

(Reporting by Sarah Young; Editing by Mike Harrison)