Punch has confirmed it has received two bids to take over the company, and is in advanced talks with Heineken.
The Punch board confirmed it had received a bid of 174p per share for the company from Patron Capital Advisers LLP. This deal would see Heineken acquire Punch A (one of two securitisation structures within the Punch group) from Patron immediately following completion. The Punch A portfolio includes 1,895 of the c3,300 pubs in the estate - of which 1,659 are designated as core pubs.
It also confirmed an approach from Emerald Investment Partners Ltd, which was set up by one of Punch’s founders, Alan McIntosh, of 185p per share.
The board described itself as in “advanced discussions” with Patron and Heineken and “discussions” with Emerald.
Both sides are required to make a firm offer by 11 January.
Under chief executive Duncan Garrood the group has overhauled its business model, introducing a division based around retail agreements and rolling out operating formats.
Punch’s share price rose 35% following the announcement to 173p per share. Heineken shares were marginally down.
