Morrisons sells petrol forecourts to MFG in £2.5bn deal
Supermarket chain Morrisons has today agreed to sell 337 of its petrol forecourts to Motor Fuel Group (MFG) in a deal worth £2.5bn.
Both Bradford-headquartered Morrisons and MFG are majority-owned by Clayton Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), an American private equity firm.
As part of the deal, Morrisons will also take a minority stake of about 20% equity interest in MFG, and enter into commercial and supply agreements with MFG.
MFG intends to use the Morrisons sites to develop a rapid electric vehicle (EV) charging business, with 800 ultra-rapid chargers planned for the first five years.
Morrisons says the proceeds of the sale will fund further investment in its grocery and food making businesses, as well as significantly strengthening the company’s capital structure.
And it is expected to use a large part of the proceeds to pay off part of its £5.7bn debt.
Rami Baitiéh, CEO of Morrisons, said: “As the needs of the customer continue to evolve, Morrisons and MFG’s partnership will see us combine our respective expertise and resources to deliver the best value for customers at the pump, in our convenience stores and in our supermarkets.
“It means Morrisons customers will continue to see a competitive and attractive forecourt offering, including expanded access to EV charging, while also benefiting from greater focus on investment in Morrisons’ core food business.
“We are delighted to have such a strong partner in MFG and look forward to the opportunities a combined MFG and Morrisons forecourt offering will provide.”
Morrisons says all of its petrol forecourt staff will be offered an in-store position.
It states: “There are not expected to be any compulsory redundancies in connection with the immediate implementation of the transaction, and it is anticipated that over time the transaction will be a significant creator of jobs.”
The deal is expected to complete in half one of this year.
Morrisons says it will continue to supply food and groceries across the 337 petrol forecourts with the opportunity to expand its supply across the MFG estate over the medium term through its growing wholesale operation.
