Heineken and Emerald pubs go head to head in battle to take over Punch Taverns
3,500 pubs across the UK are up for grabs
BRITAIN’S second biggest pub group is at the centre of a takeover battle between HEINEKEN and one of the UK’s biggest entrepreneurs.
PUNCH TAVERNS said yesterday it had received takeover approaches from the Dutch brewing giant and EMERALD INVESTMENT PARTNERS, led by Punch co-founder Alan McIntosh.
Punch, which runs 3,500 pubs across the UK, said Heineken, with private equity group PATRON CAPITAL, has proposed a 174p-a-share offer. Emerald Investment Partners has put forward a potential bid of 185p a share.
Punch’s shares soared 40 per cent on the news. But the company, which has £1.2billion debt, stressed there is “no certainty any firm offer will be made”.
Both parties now have until January 11 to make a formal offer for Punch.
It comes at an interesting time for the sector, which is coming to terms with new regulations that relaxed the “beer-tie” that forced tenants to buy beer from their pub company at inflated prices.
A takeover would further consolidate the market after Budweiser brewer ANHEUSER-BUSCH INBEV snapped up SABMILLER for a UK record £79billion.
Heineken already has 1,100 pubs in the UK through its STAR PUBS & BARS business which it acquired in 2011.
Last week Heinken defended its use of stocking requirements for tenants, saying: “Nobody expects a Costa Coffee-owned outlet to be permitted to sell Starbucks Coffee.”
A takeover of Punch would mark further consolidation in the beers, pubs and brewers market after Budweiser brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev snapped up SABMiller for £79 billion, making it the biggest deal in UK corporate history.
The deal, which was successfully completed in September, followed Greene King’s £774 million acquisition of rival Spirit Pub Company in 2015, which created one of the largest pub groups in Britain.