4th Jul 2005 10:00
Greene King PLC04 July 2005 4 July 2005 GREENE KING PLC ACQUISITION OF RIDLEY'S FOR £45.6 MILLION Greene King is pleased to announce the acquisition of T.D. Ridley & Sons Ltd.(Ridley's) for a total consideration of £45.6m including the assumption of £8.8mof debt. The consideration is payable in cash on completion, which isanticipated to take place later today, and will be financed through existingdebt facilities. The Ridley's business consists of 71 freehold tenanted pubs and 2 leaseholdtenanted pubs, a brewery at Hartford End, near Chelmsford, a quality free tradebusiness, a distribution centre in Ipswich and unlicensed property with a valueestimated at £6.0m. The pubs are predominantly located in Essex and complementour current estate of 2,064 pubs. In the 12 months ended 26 September 2004, Ridley's reported turnover of £15.1mand operating profits before exceptional items of £0.5m. At the year-end, grossassets, based on historical costs, were £13.1m. The management of the pubs and the brewing of a number of Ridley's brands willbe transferred to Greene King's operations in Bury St Edmunds and the HartfordEnd brewery will be closed. This process is expected to be completed thisautumn. The acquisition is expected to enhance adjusted earnings per share in the firstfull year of ownership, following the expected achievement of synergies of £3.5mper annum. Commenting on the transaction, Rooney Anand, chief executive of Greene King,said, 'Ridley's has a high quality pub estate, some popular ale brands and a soundlocal free trade business. The business is ideally located in a stronglydeveloping part of the country which is close to the centre of our operations.We are delighted with the purchase and believe Ridley's will benefit from GreeneKing's scale and investment and our expertise in managing an integrated tenantedand brewing business.' Nicholas Ridley, chairman of Ridley's added, 'After many years of running the company as a local independent business, andfollowing long deliberation by the board, we now believe that Ridley's needs tobecome part of a larger group. We view Greene King as the best owner to developour business for the future.' For further information Greene King plcRooney Anand, Chief ExecutiveMichael Shallow, Finance Director01284 763 222 Financial Dynamics (PR advisers to Greene King)Ben FosterCharles Watenphul020 7831 3113 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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