Punch Taverns has raised its cash bid for Allied Domecq’s pubs and off-licences to £2.85bn – 20% higher than Whitbread’s rival offer.
The move has forced Whitbread to put on hold plans to increase its all-share offer by £150m which would have closed the gap between the two offers.
Whitbread suffered another blow when The Office of Fair Trading confirmed its mergers panel will look at the competition concerns raised by the Whitbread offer.
Financial Times 30/06/99 page 1, page 23 (Observer), Lex (page 24, page 26
The Daily Telegraph 30/06/99 page 31, page 33 (City Comment), page 36 (City Diary)
The Guardian 30/06/99 page 21, page 23
The Times 30/06/99 page 27
The Independent 30/06/99 page 19, page 21 (Outlook)
