Latham Advises Issa Brothers and TDR Capital on Financing for £6.8 Billion Acquisition of Asda

Latham & Watkins has advised the Issa brothers, founders and co-CEOs of EG Group, and TDR Capital LLP, a leading UK-based private equity firm, on the financing for the acquisition of Asda Group Limited (Asda), Walmart Inc.’s (Walmart) wholly-owned UK business, for an enterprise value of £6.8 billion, on a debt-free and cash-free basis. Under the new ownership structure, the Issa brothers and TDR Capital are acquiring Asda, with equal shareholdings, with Walmart retaining a minority equity investment in the business and an ongoing commercial relationship with a seat on the board. The acquisition is expected to close later this year or H1 2021 and will result in ASDA returning to majority UK ownership for the first time in two decades.

Latham represented the Issa Brothers and TDR Capital on all financing matters in connection with the transaction, bringing together various teams from across the London platform including high yield, banking, structured finance, real estate, and tax. Latham's London team was led by high yield partner Francesco Lione, banking partners Dominic Newcomb and Charles Armstrong; structured finance partner Sanjev Warna-kula-suriya; real estate partners Jeremy Trinder and Quentin Gwyer; and tax partner Sean Finn. Advice was also provided by associates Jemma Lohr McPherson, Court Tisdale, and Arielle Bardzell from the high yield team; counsel Will Lam and associates Angus Hortop, Tian Sun, and PakWai Wu from the banking team; associate Chris Armstrong from the structured finance team; associates James Beeson and Ben Rodger from the real estate team; and associate Aoife McCabe from the tax team.