This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-29893201
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
Greene King agrees to buy Spirit Pub Company | Greene King agrees to buy Spirit Pub Company |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Spirit Pub Company, which owns Chef & Brewer, has agreed to a £774m takeover offer from Greene King. | |
Suffolk-based Greene King has 1,900 pubs and restaurants, including the Hungry Horse and Lock Fyne chains. The combination with Spirit will form a group of 3,000 pubs. | |
The new offer - a mixture of cash and shares - values Spirit at 115p per share, up from an original offer of 100p that was rejected in September. | |
The deal requires shareholder approval. | |
There have been other expressions of interest in Spirit, including from C&C, the owner of the Magners cider brand. | |
Move to food | |
Greene King's move is part of its shift into restaurants and pubs that serve food. | |
Under chief executive Rooney Anand, Greene King - which was formed in 1799 - has been reorganising its pubs estate. In May, it sold 275 tenanted and leased pubs to Hawthorn Leisure. | |
In July, Greene King announced preliminary annual profits of £105m, down 5% on the previous year. | In July, Greene King announced preliminary annual profits of £105m, down 5% on the previous year. |
Restaurants saw a 4.1% rise in profit, while profit growth at pubs was up just 2.2%. | Restaurants saw a 4.1% rise in profit, while profit growth at pubs was up just 2.2%. |