On February 4, Punch confirmed that it had submitted outline terms of a possible merger to M&B’s board, but following preliminary talks and due diligence, Punch concluded that “the terms proposed to
Punch has been approached by a number of third parties — which are thought to have included
Punch is now assessing whether any possible tie-up with a private equity group to bid for M&B would maximise value for its own shareholders.
However, Apax, Cinven and Terra Firma are believed to have dropped away.
Property tycoon Robert Tchenguiz owns 23.1% of M&B, while Irish race horse owners John Magnier and JP McManus jointly own around 4% through their investment vehicle Elpida.
Punch Taverns had propsed a 50/50 merger, with M&B shareholders receiving an additional £175m in cash payment.
Back in January, Mitchells and Butlers first confirmed it had received takeover interest, following an aborted property deal with Robert Tchenguiz, which led to M&B having to unwind hedging positions and resulting in a £274m loss after tax for the company.