Punch Taverns in M&B merger move

ONE of Britain’s largest pub operators, Punch Taverns, is understood to have made an offer for its troubled rival Mitchells & Butlers, it was reported yesterday.

A merger between the two firms would create a pub giant worth around £3.7 billion (€4.9bn), with more than 10,500 outlets.

It is not known how much Punch has offered for M&B, but the group is understood to have appointed Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs to advise it on the deal, Sunday newspapers said.