Prospects for a £5 billion-plus bid for Mitchells & Butlers were quashed last night by a statement from prospective bidder Punch, reports the Times. Punch said it was not in talks or even sounding out M&B shareholders. There have long been rumours that some sort of tie-up between the two parties would happen, but the timing is awkward for Mitchells & Butlers, which is considering whether to hive off its pub property assets into a real estate investment trust (Reit). This follows the collapse of a £4.5 billion property joint venture with Robert Tchenguiz. The entrepreneur, who speaks for 19 per cent of M&B, is tipped to be a key investor in the Reit.

This entry was posted by Sam Jones on Monday, November 26th, 2007 at 4:03 and is filed under M&A. Tagged with mitchells & butlers, Punch Taverns. Edit this entry.