Punch Taverns to sell 205 pubs to Petchey Group |
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Tue, 20 Dec 2005 10:05
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LONDON: British pub operator Punch Taverns Plc. is selling 205 of its leased and tenanted pubs for 98 million pounds in a cash deal to the Petchey Group of companies.
The sale, which will be completed early January, is to conform to the competition laws. Punch had completed a deal to buy Spirit Group for 2.68 billion pounds and at that time said it will sell 190 of its pubs to comply with the law. The Spirit Group takeover will make Punch the country's largest pub group.
The Petchey Group, led by entrepreneur Jack Petchey, will buy the pubs through its Save Investments. Punch may also sell some of the 1,832 managed pubs it acquired from Spirits Group. It gave no details although analysts have been saying the company would retain only about half of these pubs.
Petchey, 80, is involved in the acquisition by car dealer Lookers of its larger rival
Reg Vardy. Lookers has been seeking his support against Reg Vardy, which has already recommended a 450 million-pound offer from Pendragon. He also owns 20 per cent of the holding in Aston Villa FC, which is subject of a takeover by Michael Neville. He had recently divested his stake in Wyevale Garden Centres to Laxey Partners.
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Punch Taverns wins deal to acquire Spirit Group 