 The pub sector has seen a wave of consolidation |
The pub group behind the All Bar One and Harvester chains has rejected an informal �2.7bn takeover approach from a private equity consortium. Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) said it would not consider a takeover until it got a formal written offer from the R20 group, led by tycoon Robert Tchenguiz.
The consortium said that M&B had refused to discuss any deal.
News of the 550p per share approach sent M&B shares up 7.3% to 497.5p by the close of Thursday trading.
Formal offer
The pub chain emerged as a potential takeover target for Mr Tchenguiz in March, and the Takeover Panel had given him until 8 May to make a formal bid or walk away.
R20 said that its offer for M&B would be funded through a mix of equity and debt, and said it could fully fund the pub group's pension deficit.
It said it would make the bid formal if it was allowed to undertake further due diligence work and get approval from its financing banks and consortium members.
It also needed the M&B board to recommend its offer to shareholders.
According to the Financial Times, R20 has been told to come back with an offer of at least 600p a share, valuing the pub group at �2.94bn.
M&B operates more than 2,000 sites and was created when former Bass company Six Continents demerged its hotels and retail divisions in 2002.
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