30th Oct 2014 09:29
LONDON (Alliance News) - Spirit Pub Company PLC on Thursday said it is still willing to recommend the proposed bid for the company by Greene King PLC and has extended the takeover deadline in order to continue talks.
Spirit said it had agreed to extend the deadline on the talks, due to end Thursday, to Tuesday next week.
The proposed offer from Greene King, made last week, values Spirit at around GBP723 million, having been increased from the original GBP661 million offer made a month earlier.
Since the bid, Irish cider maker C&C Group PLC has entered the bidding battle for Spirit with a preliminary approach, though its bid was given the thumbs down by markets on the back of concerns that buying Spirit would constitute a significant change in strategy for the maker of Magners cider.
Spirit shares were up 1.0% to 106.00 pence in early trade on Thursday. Greene King shares were up 0.3% to 786.50 pence, while C&C shares were up 0.7% to 3.41 pence.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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