M&A

M&A

Essar Energy arm to acquire UK fuel retail chain SGN for GBP 400-M

Business Line   SGN  

EET Retail, a division of Essar Energy Transition Fuels, is to acquire UK-based independent forecourt operator SGN for approximately GBP 400-M (about USD 539 M). (Fuel forecourt is the open outdoor area of a gas or petrol station where customers park their vehicles to pump fuel.) RBC Capital Markets served as the financial advisor, while Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer and Weightmans acted as legal advisors to the transaction.The acquisition is being financed through a combination of cash and a new GBP 250-M senior debt facility. The debt was arranged by a consortium of banks, including First Abu Dhabi Bank, Macquarie Bank, Mizrahi Tefahot Bank, Natixis, OakNorth Bank, Royal Bank of Canada, SMBC Bank International, and Sound Point Capital Management.Founded in 2016 by Graham Peacock and Susan Tobbell, SGN operates 118 roadside locations in the UK. The deal will expand EET Retail’s total footprint to 235 sites and enable the company to distribute fuel directly from its Stanlow refinery in Cheshire. EET Retail intends to grow this network to 800 sites by 2031.