Greene King Downs Spirit In £774m Takeover

4 November 2014 at 6:53 am

Greene King (LSE: GNK.L - news) is on track to become a bigger player in the dining market after reaching agreement on a recommended offer for Spirit Pub Company (LSE: SPRT.L - news) .

The UK's largest pub retailer and brewer said the offer values Spirit at £774m, or 115p per share, and the proposed deal would result in Spirit shareholders owning about 28.9% of the combined new Greene King.

The company, whose current brands include Hungry Horse, Old English Inns and Loch Fyne, had faced a rival in the race for Spirit from C&C Group (Other OTC: CCGGY - news) - the maker of Magners cider.

Spirit's 790 managed pubs include the Chef & Brewer, Flaming Grill and Taylor Walker names.

It was spun out of Punch Taverns (LSE: PUB.L - news) in 2011.

Greene King said the combined group could expect to achieve cost savings of at least £30m annually and said it would also benefit from a larger exposure to the economically-stronger London and south west regions of Britain.

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