Zuber Issa plots shock swoop for $10bn Castrol oils
The British forecourts tycoon who led a successful swoop for Asda is plotting an audacious multibillion-pound assault on Castrol oils.
Zuber Issa, one half of the billionaire brothers from Blackburn who acquired Asda for £6.8 billion in 2020 with the backing of private equity firm TDR Capital, is understood to have set his sights on BP-owned Castrol after selling his stake in the supermarket last year.
He is exploring plans to lead a consortium to acquire Castrol, which BP has put on the market for up to $10 billion (£7.5 billion), according to sources familiar with the situation.
After seeing off Apollo Global Management and Lone Star Funds in the battle for Asda, Issa's latest move could once again pit him against a clutch of deep-pocketed private equity investors, and lead to him squaring off against the likes of Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries and Saudi Aramco, the world's biggest oil company.
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