Greene King makes firm £773.6m bid for Spirit

4th Nov 2014 07:52

British brewer and pub group Greene King has made a firm £773.6m takeover bid for rival Spirit Pub Company, upping pressure on rival suitor C&C.Greene King, which makes Old Speckled Hen and Greene King IPA, said it had agreed an offer for Spirit with the latter's board including 0.1322 new Greene King shares for each Spirit share and 8p in cash, which Spirit would pay in dividends. The offer is above the initially mooted £723m.If the deal completes, Spirit shareholders would hold about 28.9% of the combined group and Greene King shareholders would have about 71.1%.The news puts pressure on Magners and Bulmers cider maker C&C, which has also approached Spirit about a potential tie-up.Greene King said it expected its tie-up with Spirit would save the combined group at least £30m a year at a one-off cost of about £25m.Spirit chairman Walker Boyd said: "Over the last several years Spirit's team, under Mike Tye, has delivered a turnaround of the business and put it firmly on the growth path. The combination with Greene King will take this to the next level."Greene King chief executive Rooney Anand commented: "This offer represents a fair price for Spirit's high quality estate that fits well within the Greene King portfolio."Shares in Greene King fell 12p or 1.5% to 796.5p in early trading in London. Spirit's stock gained 2.5p or 2.3% to 109.5p.