£101.5m takeover of Revolution Bars falls through

The £101.5m takeover of Revolution Bars Group by Stonegate Pub Company has collapsed following pressure from a rival bid.

“Requisite resolutions” needed for the deal to go ahead were not met at a general meeting.

This is despite Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester-headquartered Revolution’s board recommending agreement by shareholders in the face of a rival hostile merger bid from the UK’s largest nightclub chain Deltic Group.

For the Stonegate offer to be accepted 75% of Revolution shareholders would have needed to be in favour of the takeover.

At a court meeting, 56% of shareholders voted in favour, while 44% voted against. But those voting against held 16.1 million shares, representing 53.76% of scheme shares.

After the vote, listed Revolution said in a statement: “The board remains confident regarding the underlying strength of the Revolution business and its ability to operate and grow as a standalone business, not least given the scale and strength of Revolution’s new venue pipeline and the returns achieved by new venues opened in the last two years.

“The board considers that its clear and focused strategy, the quality of Revolution’s sites and customer proposition, and the talent within the business, leave the business well placed for further growth.”

A statement from Stonegate said: “We put forward what we believed to be an attractive proposal and made an offer at a 62% premium to the undisturbed share price which was unanimously recommended by the board. However, we respect the shareholders’ decision and wish them all the best.”