C&C losing Spirit
Greene King has agreed to buy the Spirit pub company in a deal worth £773.6 million and the board of Spirit is recommending the offer to its shareholders.
The acquisition will result in a 3,000-strong pub group and leaves C&C’s offer of nearly €1 billion out in the cold unless it’s prepared to make a revised offer by 20th November under City Takeover Panel rules.
In response to the news from Greene King, C&C shares rose sharply last week indicating possible shareholder relief that C&C would not be going into the retail on-trade in the UK.
However C&C remains tight-lipped about whether or not it will make an improved offer before the 20th November deadline.
