Greene King predicts completion date for £760m Spirit acquisition
PUBCO Greene King has said it expects its £760m acquisition of Staffordshire rival, Spirit, to complete in the first half of this year.
In an update on its Christmas trading, Greene King CEO Rooney Anand said the business was working with the Competition and Markets Authority to ensure a smooth transition.
Greene King, brewer of Abbot Ale and Old Speckled Hen, and Spirit, which was formed following its demerger from Punch Taverns, had been in talks for some time before a deal was thrashed out in November last year.
Under the deal, Spirit shareholders will receive 0.1322 Greene King shares per Spirit share, plus 8p in cash, which will be payable by Spirit as a dividend.
The final deal valued Spirit’s shares at 115p each – a figure which valued the group at £760m. The figure represented a 52% on Spirit’s closing price on September 22, the last day of trading before offer talks commenced.
The deal means Spirit shareholders will hold approximately 28.9% of the combined group, with Greene King shareholders taking the remaining 71.1%.
Anand said in his update that Spirit shareholders had also overwhelmingly voted in favour of the proposed transaction.
“This will create the UK’s leading managed pub company and deliver significant shareholder value through material synergy generation and anticipated earnings accretion,” he said.
“The exact timing of the completion of the deal remains uncertain but we are working closely with the Competition and Markets Authority and expect the deal to complete by the end of the first half of 2015.”
In its update, Greene King said retail like-for-like (LFL) sales had been up 2.0% over Christmas and the New Year and increased by 0.6% for the year-to-date. Retail LFL sales were said to be in line with last year in the last six weeks despite tough comparatives.
