Heineken, the world’s third largest brewer, will takeover the Globe Pub Company in late 2010 – following its £180m acquisition today by a holding company.
A new vehicle called EBP Pub Company has purchased the troubled operator after it was placed into administration with Zolfo Cooper, at the behest of bondholders who had appointed Bank of New York Mellon to oversee their interests.
Under the terms of the agreement Heineken has signed a contract to supply the 421-pub estate of EBP with beer – and will provide corporate and estate management along the same lines as it previously offered to Globe, through its subsidiary S&N Pub Enterprises.
In a statement EBP said: “Heineken has provided EBP with financing for the acquisition of the estate and has entered into a conditional share purchase agreement with the controlling shareholders of the EBP group, under the terms of which it is anticipated that Heineken will acquire full ownership in the third quarter of 2010.”
Under the deal, Heineken has given EBP Pub Company, controlled by FEOH Investments Ltd, £180m to finance the purchase of the pubs from Globe, much of whose debt Heineken owns. It is understood that FEOH Investments is being advised by R20.
Heineken would then acquire full ownership of EBP in the third quarter of 2010 under a conditional share purchase agreement with FEOH. The price for this part of the deal was not disclosed.
The proceeds of the pub sale to EBP would principally be used to repay senior class A1 notes, 92.8% of which Heineken owns, at a face value of £175m.
Heineken also owns 31.6% of the class B1 notes representing a face value of £18m.
Tchenguiz paid £345m to buy 364 pubs from Spirit in December 2004 to form Globe but earlier this year the company was forced to writedown the value of its estate by nearly £200m.
The estate decreased in value to just £160m when accounts were signed in July 2009 — meaning each pub was worth around £380,000 at that time.
