Cinven and Enterprise Inns purchase pub chains

Investee Company – Unique Pub Company/Voyager Pub Group (UK)

Investee Company Business Type – Operates pub chains

Type of Financing – LBO

Equity Providers – Cinven, Morgan Stanley Princes Gate Investors , Legal & General Ventures

Equity Leader (Individual) – Guy Davison/Dick Munton

Debt Providers – Morgan Stanley

Debt Amount/Type – £500 million (Morgan Stanley); £1,001 million (securitised debt)

Debt Leader (Individual) – N/K

Equity Amount – £372 million (Cinven Consortium); £75 million (Enterprise Inns)

Total Deal Value – £2,013 million

Other Advisors – Morgan Stanley (Financial); Ashursts (Lawyers; Andersens (Accountants)

Comments – A consortium of investors led by Cinven has purchased two pub chains, Unique Pub Company and the Voyager Pub Group, from Nomura International Plc. The consortium included Legal & General Ventures and Morgan Stanley providing the debt.

Cinven and Enterprise Inns will leave in place existing securitised debt of £1.1 billion. In addition to the £447 million in equity that the consortium and Enterprise Inns are putting in, Morgan Stanley is providing new debt of about £500 million. A total of £372 million was invested by the consortium for an 83.2% stake; the remaining 16.8% was purchased by Enterprise Inns plc for £75 million. Enterprise Inns has been granted a call option by the consortium whereby after two years it can purchase the balance of the equity in the Newco under the terms of a shareholder agreement.

The two pub chains are to be merged forming a company made up of 4,189 pubs which generates EBITDA of over £220 million.

Cinven director Dick Munton, commented: “Cinven has worked hard with its Consortium and Enterprise Inns to bring together both sector expertise and funding in order to complete this deal in a very short period of time. The Pub Estate and its management are of the highest quality and we look forward to working with Enterprise Inns to create shareholder value in the future.”