Patron, Heineken set for £1.8bn Punch Taverns take-private

The proposed transaction, which values Punch Taverns' equity at £403m, is part of a joint investment, which will see a total of around 3,200 pubs change hands.

A joint holding company, Vine Acquisitions, has acquired a 28.5% stake in the listed company for around £114m and has received irrevocable undertakings totalling 52.3% of the ordinary share capital in Punch Taverns. The listed company's shareholders will meet on 10 February to vote on the proposed deal that will see the company wholly acquired by the consortium.

Following the deal, the business will be split, with Heineken paying £305m for around 1,900 sites and Patron acquiring the remaining outlets. According to publicly available records, Punch Taverns is currently financed through two asset-backed debt packages. The first, totalling £851m, is secured against 1,895 pubs, while the second, totalling £566m is secured against 1,329 pubs.

Patron and Heineken submitted their bid in December valuing Punch Taverns' shares at 180 pence apiece. The GP's capital will be drawn from its fifth fund, a €949m vehicle that held its final close in July 2016.

The business generated a turnover of £406.8m in the year ending August 2016, with EBITDA of £177.9m.

TPG Capital acquired the business in an £825m buyout from BT Capital Partners in September 1999. After acquiring 3,500 pubs from Allied Domecq, the business listed on the London Stock Exchange in May 2002.

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• Topics
• PIPEs
• UK / Ireland
• Consumer
• Take Private
• Patron Capital Partners
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