Mohsin and Zuber Issa are reportedly laying the groundwork for an initial public offering of EG Group in the U.S. for as much as $14.3 billion (£13 billion).
EG is said to be in the process of lining up banks for a possible listing in 2025, according to reports in Mergermarket and The Telegraph.
Although the IPO is still in its early stages, EG’s market value could reach $14.3 billion, which equates to 13 times its underlying earnings of $1.1 billion in 2023. The company’s global operations generated $28.3 billion in revenue last year.
By selling a portion of their stakes to outside investors, the Issa brothers and fellow co-owner TDR Capital could be in line for a considerable windfall.
EG declined to comment on the reports.
The IPO would deal yet another blow to the London Stock Exchange, which has been struggling to attract new floats amid a wave of companies moving their listings overseas.
Construction equipment rental group Ashtead said earlier this month that it would shift its primary listing to the U.S. because the majority of the group’s business activity, leadership team and employee base is in North America.
EG has been operating in the U.S. since 2018, when it acquired Kroger’s convenience store business. And the U.S. is now the group’s single biggest market.
EG operates almost 1,500 convenience stores across 30 U.S. states under the banners: Cumberland Farms, Certified Oil, Fastrac, Kwik Shop, Loaf N’ Jug, Minit Mart, Quik Stop, Sprint, Tom Thumb, and Turkey Hill.
The Issas are the children of immigrants who moved to Blackburn from Gujurat, India, in the 1970s. They built their retail empire from a single gas station they acquired in 2001 in Greater Manchester.
They expanded their business, which was initially called Euro Garages, by acquiring gas stations the oil majors were divesting as they shifted their focus to production and refining.
The brothers realized they had a captive market of motorists stopping for fuel, so they revamped the stations to offer a wide range of fast food, groceries and merchandise.
After the Issas partnered with private equity giant TDR Capital in 2015, the business grew even more rapidly. EG currently runs convenience stores and gas stations at more than 5,500 sites spanning 9 countries, although this no longer includes any sites in Britain.
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