Blackburn retail group completes multi-million pound deal in US

One of the country’s fastest growing firms has completed a multi-million pound deal which will see it add 600 stores and petrol stations to its empire.

Blackburn based EG Group has bought the US firm Cumberland Farms for an undisclosed amount.

The firm operates 600 convenience retail stores and fuel stations across seven states, employing 9,000 people.

And the deal takes the EG Group’s US network to 1,700 stores – it had no presence in the country a little over 12 months ago.

EG Group co-CEOs Mohsin, left, and Zuber Issa

Zuber Issa, the founder and co-chief executive of EG Group, said: “Over nearly eight decades the Haseotes family have built Cumberland Farms into an outstanding portfolio of large, modern facilities run by a team of associates who are connected to the communities they serve.

“It is rare that an asset of this quality becomes available and we are delighted to have been successful in a highly competitive process.

“We look forward to welcoming the talented team at Cumberland Farms into the EG family.”

Ari Haseotes, president and chief executive of Cumberland Farms, said: “We very much look forward to becoming part of the EG family, as it is clear that both Cumberland Farms and EG Group share a common vision for excellence in convenience retailing and commitment to investment in our people.”

The deal will take the EG Group’s network to a total of nearly 1,700 stores across the US, operating in 30 states and retailing over 2.5 billion gallons of fuel with merchandise sales of more than US$3 billion on an annualized basis.

Mohsin Issa, founder and co-chief executive, added: “The acquisition of Cumberland Farms is a transformative one for our US business.

“It brings us greater scale and a well-established network in locations we do not currently serve that is highly complementary to our existing US store footprint.

“We believe that the Cumberland Farms portfolio comprises some of the very best convenience stores within the USA and we are delighted they will form part of the EG family.

“We will be retaining the highly regarded Cumberland Farms brand on all of the acquired stores and are actively considering the addition of Cumberland Farms products in our wider portfolio. Whilst we believe EG can add a lot to the Cumberland Farms business we also recognise that EG has much to learn from it.

“Our group’s ability to maintain consistency in both owned and third party brand standards along with delivering the right customer experience have made EG Group a partner, and acquirer, of choice.”

Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Barclays, PwC and Rothschild & Co are acting as financial advisors to EG.

Allen & Overy LLP and Kirkland & Ellis LLP are acting as legal advisors to EG.

RPS Gaiatech are advising EG on environmental risk management.

EG has committed financing in place to support the transaction from a bank group led by Barclays. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions.

EG Group was founded in 2001 by the Issa Family and its first garage was in Bury.

The firm currently employs over 30,000 staff working in 5,200 sites across Europe, USA and Australia.