The billionaire Issa brothers are to announce the £10bn merger of EG Group and Asda.
News of the potential deal was first reported in January while an announcement had been expected early on Friday morning. However BusinessLive now understands it is more likely it will be confirmed after the Bank Holiday weekend.
Mohsin and Zuber Issa started out with a single petrol station forecourt in Bury, Greater Manchester more than 20 years ago.
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They now run Blackburn-headquartered EG Group whose brands include Cooplands, Cumberland Farms, Leon and Euro Garages.
They acquired Asda in a £6.8bn deal alongside private equity firm TDR Capital in 2021.
If the merger is completed, the combined group would have 170,000 employees and turn over almost £30bn.
Both EG Group and Asda are chaired by former Marks & Spencer and Ocado Group chair Lord Rose.
It is also expected that EG Group would retain its head office in Blackburn and Asda would remain headquartered in Leeds.
According to the latest Sunday Times Rich List, the brothers saw their wealth rise by £302m to £5.05bn over the last year.
In March, BusinessLive reported that profits at EG Group, which the brothers also own alongside TDR Capital, increased to almost $1.5bn during 2022.
EG Group posted an EBITDA of $1.46bn on a constant currency basis, up by 1.9% compared to 2021.
The group's turnover also jumped by 25.1% to $33.04bn thanks to the contribution of acquisitions such as Cooplands.
In March, BusinessLive reported that Asda's profits dipped in 2022 due to accelerating cost inflation but sales edged higher.
The following month, the GMB Union has called on the government to intervene in the planned merger saying the deal could "threaten the UK's food supply, fuel prices and 100,000 jobs".
Both EG Group and Asda declined to comment when approached by BusinessLive.
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