US heavyweights advise as Apollo buys into £7bn Motor Fuel Group

Paul Weiss and Kirkland & Ellis have landed key roles as US private equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) has sold a minority stake in Motor Fuel Group (MFG) - the UK’s largest independent forecourt operator - to a group of investors led by fellow private equity house Apollo.

The deal values the business at around £7 billion and is understood to involve a 25%-30% stake, according to Sky News.

The Apollo-led consortium, which also includes several institutional investors and some of CD&R’s existing limited partners, has invested around £500 million through a newly created special purpose vehicle. The proceeds will be used to redeem part of CD&R’s equity stake, with CD&R retaining majority control of the business.

MFG has expanded rapidly under CD&R’s ownership, becoming the largest independent forecourt operator in the UK. Last year, CD&R combined MFG’s petrol forecourt business with that of fellow portfolio company and supermarket chain Morrisons in a £2.5 billion deal. On that deal, Freshfields advised CD&R, with Kirkland acting for Morrisons.

Advising

Paul Weiss is advising Apollo, with a team led by London M&A partners Christopher Sullivan and Oliver Marcuse, and debt finance partners Neel Sachdev and Kanesh Balasubramaniam, alongside specialists in IP and tax.

Kirkland & Ellis is advising CD&R. The team includes London corporate partners Adrian Maguire and Jessica Corr.