Greene King is locked in eleventh hour talks with Spirit Pub Company to persuade the board to accept an estimated 115p-a-share offer.
It has until close of play tomorrow to put up or shut up on its planned takeover. An earlier 100p offer valued Spirit at £1.4bn including debt. Sprit, which was demurred from Punch Taverns in 2011, has 750 managed pubs and 450 leased sites.
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