Convenience-store retailer EG Group Ltd. is considering listing its public, non-restricted stock in the United States, for an initial public offering (IPO) worth more than $14 billion, according to a report by The Telegraph. The Blackburn, U.K.-based owner of the Cumberland Farms and other U.S. c-store chains is lining up banks for a potential listing in 2025, said the report.
The deal, which is still in its early stages, could bring EG Group an estimated valuation of approximately $14.3 billion, 13 times its underlying earnings of $1.1 billion last year.
EG Group declined to comment.
In November 2024, EG Group completed the sale of its remaining 30-unit U.K. convenience-store and gas station business and other standalone foodservice locations to co-founder Zuber Issa, the brother of Mohsin Issa. Zuber and Mohsin Issa were previously co-CEO of EG Group, but after Nov. 1, Mohsin became sole CEO. Mohsin and Zuber Issa were among CSP’s Power 20 Deal Makers in 2020.
Along with the Issa brothers, TDR Capital is co-owner of EG Group. TDR has been a shareholder in EG Group since 2015.
The United States is the company’s largest single market, according to the report, with nearly 1,500 c-stores.
The IPO could signal U.S. expansion plans. But reports of EG Group selling off its U.S. retail assets surfaced in January 2023 after it was first suggested that the retailer would merge with Laval, Quebec-based Circle K owner Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. EG Group hired real estate investment bank Eastdil to explore the disposal of a package of its operations in the United States and to lead any sale process, according to a report by Sky News. The news followed an April 2022 report that suggested EG Group was in negotiations to merge with Couche-Tard.
In November, EG Group completed the sale of 19 Minit Mart c-stores in Kansas and Missouri for $21 million. Separately, in June, it agreed to sell 39 Minit Mart c-stores in Illinois for $38 million to Houston-based BreakTime Corner Market LLC (BTCM), which operates the Braketime brand. Also in June, it sold 23 Loaf ‘N Jug c-stores in North Dakota and Montana to BTCM.
Founded in 2001 by the Issa family, Blackburn, United Kingdom-based EG Group owns Westborough, Massachusetts-based EG America LLC, which operates the Cumberland Farms and other U.S. convenience-store chains.
EG America is No. 5 on CSP’s 2024 Top 202 U.S. c-store chains by store count.
EG Group established itself in the United States in 2018 as EG America by acquiring Kroger’s 762-site c-store network, which included the Turkey Hill, Loaf 'N Jug, Kwik Shop, Tom Thumb and Quik Stop banners. It acquired TravelCenters of America’s portfolio of 225 Minit Mart c-stores in 2018. And in 2019, among other acquisitions, EG Group acquired Cumberland Farms and its nearly 660 c-stores in the Northeast and Florida. Other acquired brands include Certified Oil, Fastrac and Sprint Food Stores.
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