Restaurants/Pubs

Punch also under pressure after Mitchells & Butlers talks end

15 Apr 2008

The UK pub operator has broken off contact with rival M&B over a possible merger or sale of its Spirit pubs. That's a victory of sorts for M&B's pacman defence. Now it's up to shareholders to decide the next move. Punch has as many questions to answer as M&B.

Punch withdrawal won’t fell M&B

28 Mar 2008

The only trade buyer for the pubs group has walked away. But M&B s shareholders needn t mourn too much. The company continues to generate cash and despite its recent woes and a discredited management, M&B still has options without an obvious bidder.

Buyout firms look toothless over M&B

17 Mar 2008

The UK pubs group, its share price laid low by a busted property punt, would once have been the ideal private equity target. But buyout firms are deprived of their traditional supply of cheap debt, so even such cashgenerative, propertyrich companies look rather hard to get.

Bargain hunters should nibble on US restaurants

12 Feb 2008

A glimmer of good news from casual dining chain Darden sparked a feeding frenzy in restaurant stocks. While it is far too soon to expect a turnaround, a lot of bad news has been priced into the sector. The buffet is starting to look tempting.

Punch stages opportunistic swoop on M&B

4 Feb 2008

There s plenty of logic to a deal between the two pub groups. And with M&B s management discredited by its disastrous property punt, Punch s timing is opportune. But financially, things are more complex. M&B shouldn t accept the first offer on the table.

M&B pays price for misguided property punt

29 Jan 2008

The UK pub operator has taken a £274m hit equivalent to all last year s earnings on unwinding hedges associated with a failed property joint venture. Chief executive Tim Clarke may have been badly advised, but he is lucky to be hanging on to his job.

Bain delivers innovative pizza payout

12 Feb 2007

Its Domino s chain plans to issue $1.85bn of assetbacked securities. These have fewer constraints on shareholder payouts than normal debt. This fee franchise securitisation is an innovative way to lever up cheaply and fund a big dividend to Bain and other shareholders.

SAB Miller overhang looms

12 Sep 2004

The lockup on Altria s £3bn stake in the highlyperforming AngloSA brewer comes to an end next June. SAB will need nifty footwork to prevent the overhang depressing its shares and, hence, its ability to do megadeals.

Mad cow will sicken many US investors

24 Dec 2003

The first case of mad cow disease in the US signals a massive blow to the country s beef and fast food industries. Looking at other countries' experiences, the pain will be long and drawn out.

Autogrill shareholders shouldn’t get their hopes up

3 Nov 2003

Shares in the motorway rest stop group have recently been bolstered by takeover speculation. But buyers who could afford to pay the Benetton family a decent premium for its 57% stake look thin on the ground.

M&B=M&A

24 Sep 2003

A shake up is looming in the UK s pubs industry. The bidders for Scottish & Newcastle s pubs estate are keeping tabs on M&B. The group has yet to release details of its securitisation plans. Buyers will need to act fast, before M&B is effectively bidproof.

Mitchells & Butlers knocked out of S&N pubs

29 Aug 2003

The perceived leader has been told it s out of the running for the pubs business, which is now likely to fetch more than £2.4bn. That may be good for M&B shareholders who feared it would overpay, want to see cash returned and may prefer their company to be a target.

S&N kicks off £2.3bn pubs auction

1 Jul 2003

And with a solid set of results behind it, the British brewer has a good chance of surpassing its asking price. New CEO Tony Froggatt must not see the balance sheet flexibility the sale brings as a blank cheque to do deals.

Six Continents continues to reject offers

27 Mar 2003

Until the pubs and hotels units test the market next month, there is no reason why it should. The demerging UK company turned down a £2.8bn bid for its Mitchells & Butlers pubs group. SixCon is clearly in no hurry to sell.

Osmond could net £1bn from SixCon

3 Mar 2003

That s what the entrepreneur and his team would make if they can deliver 20% a year growth in SixCon s share price That may look tough. But even at 10% a year, they would cream off over £400m. This is greedy.

Osmond finally goes hostile for SixCon

3 Mar 2003

Osmond has two weaknesses: the cash he is offering comes from SixCon's own coffers; and he will cream off a large chunk of the upside. But SixCon's management has a big drawback of its own: it is still there.

SixCon bidder in controversial scheme

23 Feb 2003

Hugh Osmond and his cronies were given warrants allowing them to own 12% of CMI's issued share capital. Even if he torpedoes the warrants, Osmond's credibility as a saviour for SixCon's shareholders will suffer a serious blow.

Osmond places giant personals ad

20 Feb 2003

His interest in SixCon could be rephrased: "Rich white male seeks partners". Osmond's plan to break up SixCon's hotels arm may have merits. But Osmond still needs to show the colour of his currency and spell out what price he wants to extract for himself.

Pizza Express mulls management buyout

16 Dec 2002

The UK restaurant chain turned down former coowner Hugh Osmond. Now management may be stepping in where he was stymied. Shareholders may not see a higher offer though.

Pizza Express mulls management buyout

16 Dec 2002