Dutch brewer Heineken and its investment partner Patron Capital have agreed a £403m takeover offer for British pubs group Punch Taverns, the companies said today.
Punch, Britain's second-largest pub operator, said the deal had received support from its top three investors representing about 52.3% of Punch's existing share capital.
Each Punch shareholder would receive 180 pence per share in cash representing a premium of more than 40% to Punch's close on Tuesday, a day before a potential deal was first reported.
The deal agreed today values Punch at £402.7m, with Heineken contributing £305m of the total.
Heineken is unusual among brewing groups in that it has an existing portfolio of about 1,100 pubs, most bought from Royal Bank of Scotland in 2011.
The deal would add 1,900 pubs to Heineken's existing portfolio, with real estate investment group keeping more than 1,300 sites.
The deal could boost the number of Heineken pubs selling the Dutch group's beers, including Amstel, Sol and Lagunitas alongside Strongbow cider and its green-bottled Heineken lager.
Punch said this week it had received two takeover approaches, a possible 174 pence per share offer from Heineken and its partner and a higher 185 pence per share bid from Emerald Investment Partners, founded by Alan McIntosh, the pub group's former finance director.
It was not immediately clear how Emerald planned to respond to the agreed deal.
