LONDON, May 30 Reuters British supermarket Asda said it would buy the bulk of petrol station operator EG Group39;s UK and Ireland business to speed up its move into the convenience sector, creating a company with combined revenue of nearly 30 billion pounds 38 billion.

Asda, Britain39;s thirdlargest grocer, and EG are both owned by brothers Zuber and Mohsin Issa and private equity group TDR Capital. The unit of around 350 petrol stations and over 1,000 foodtogo locations will be valued at 2.27 billion pounds.

The deal will help spur Asda in its drive to overtake Sainsbury39;s and become Britain39;s No. 2 supermarket as it rolls out the Asda Express across the EG petrol estate. EG will pay down debt.

This transaction is all about driving growth by bringing Asda39;s heritage in value to even more communities and accelerating the growth of its convenience retail business, said Asda chairman Stuart Rose.

The Issa brothers bought Asda in 2021 and have already converted 166 EG sites to the Asda on the Move format.

Tesco leads the UK grocery market with a 27.1 share, according to the most recent data by Kantar. Sainsbury39;s holds 14.8, ahead of Asda39;s 13.9.

The deal comes as consumers grapple with a costofliving crisis that has left grocers juggling surging food prices with a need to pay higher wages, while facing fierce pricing competition from German discount groups Aldi and Lidl.

Asda, which like rivals is competitive on the price of petrol at its large stores,…