The billionaire Issa brothers have agreed a £600m deal for Asda to buy the Co-operative Group's 129-strong petrol forecourt chain.
The supermarket chain, which is owned by the Lancashire-based brothers alongside TDR Capital, will take over 5% of Co-op's entire retail estate - including 129 petrol stations and three development sites. Asda already runs 230 petrol stations across the UK.
In a statement, Manchester-headquartered Co-op said that offloading its petrol forecourts will allow it to focus on its convenience business as well as raising important cash for the group.
