Are the Billionaire Issa Brothers set to Buy Boots for £6b?

The billionaire Issa brothers could be adding to their business portfolio soon as they are reportedly the frontrunners to buy Boots.

The owners of Asda are in the running to acquire the pharmacy giant after a team of interested buyers, Bain Capital and CVC Capital Partners, dropped out of a £6 billion deal.

Boots has over 2,000 stores in the UK, employing more than 50,000 people.

According to reports, a takeover could be worth as much as £10 billion.

Boots is owned by US-based company Walgreens Boots Alliance, which unveiled a ‘strategic review’ of the pharmacy chain in January 2022.

Bain Capital and CVC Capital Partners pulled out of a £6 billion because Walgreens reportedly wanted too much money for Boots.

Meanwhile, the Issa brothers remain in the running.

It is understood that buyers who were previously interested included investment firm Advent, Carlyle and KKR.

KKR owned Boots in the past before selling it to Walgreens.

The sale process is being handled by Goldman Sachs.

Mohsin and Zuber Issa entered the business world by founding Euro Garages and having just one petrol station in Bury.

They soon formed a network of forecourts across the UK.

With the backing of TDR Capital, they formed EG Group and expanded across Europe.

In 2020, the brothers and the private equity firm joined forces to buy Asda.

EG Group now owns 6,000 forecourts as well as various fast food brands in Europe and the United States.

In October 2021, EG Group planned to sell 27 petrol filling stations to Park Garage Group, as part of a deal made when buying Asda.

In June 2021, the brothers agreed to sell some of the EG Group petrol stations due to competition concerns from the Competition and Markets Authority.

The Issa brothers bought 52 KFC branches in the UK from Amsric Group.

The branches employ over 1,600 staff and include sit-down restaurants and drive-through outlets.

The deal makes EG the biggest KFC franchise owner in Western Europe and means it now controls more than 220 KFC restaurants.

In March 2020, EG acquired 146 KFCs and one Pizza Hut from The Herbert Group. In 2017, EG bought 77 Little Chef roadside restaurants.

Zuber Issa previously said: “We grew (EG) from nothing.

“We’ve been on the pumps, we’ve been stocking the shelves, cleaning the toilets. You do everything.

“And once you do the foundation work, it’s no different wherever you go in the world.

“It’s a petrol station; you’re selling fuel, you’re selling coffee, you’re selling convenience.”