Britain's Motor Fuel Group (MFG) is in talks with supermarket chain Morrisons over the acquisition of 340 fuel retail forecourts, in a deal that could be worth about £2 billion (€2.33 billion), the petrol stations giant said.
The company, in a statement to Reuters, said that the proposed deal would also include 500 freehold plots of land at the supermarket chain's locations "where ultra-rapid electric vehicle (EV) and valeting hubs will be deployed."
Motor Fuel Group is UK's largest independent forecourt operator and provides services through over 900 sites while Morrisons is Britain's fifth largest supermarket group.
Morrisons declined to comment on the deal.
Clayton Dubilier & Rice
Both Morrisons and MFG are controlled by the U.S. private equity group Clayton Dubilier & Rice (CD&R).
'MFG is already committed to invest £400 million over 10 years into building ultra-rapid EV hubs across their existing 900-strong MFG forecourt network,' MFG's statement said.
Sky News, which first reported the news, said an agreement between the two companies, both controlled by private equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), may likely be done during the autumn.
Tackling High Inflation
Morrisons has been among the retailers to introduce price cuts on essential products in recent weeks in an attempt to stave off the impact of high inflation on its shopper base.
In June, the group introduced a new tranche of price cuts on products such as beef mince, ham, tomatoes, spinach and wholemeal pittas. It said a pledge to hold the new prices for at least eight weeks represented an investment of £26 million (€30.5 million).
Additional reporting by ESM
