Tue 23rd Sep 2014 - Greene King confirms £700m Spirit approach Greene King confirms £700m Spirit approach: Greene King has confirmed that it has approached Spirit over a possible £700m takeover. A combination of the two companies would create a circa 1,900 strong managed estate and around 1,300 tenanted and leased pubs, creating the largest managed pub company in the UK and the third largest tenanted estate in the UK behind Punch and Enterprise Inns. The Financial Times suggested that Greene King has offered around 110p per share for the company. The newspaper claimed that a previous offer of 100p per share had been rejected. The FT reported that Spirit has retained advisors in the wake of the approach. Greene King stated: “In light of recent speculation, the board of Greene King confirms that it has approached the Board of Spirit in relation to a potential combination of the two companies. In accordance with Rule 2.6(a) of the Code, Greene King is required, by not later than 5.00 p.m. on 21 October 2014, either to announce a firm intention to make an offer for Spirit in accordance with Rule 2.7 of the Code or to announce that it does not intend to make an offer, in which case the announcement will be treated as a statement to which Rule 2.8 of the Code applies. This deadline can be extended with the consent of the Panel in accordance with Rule 2.6(c) of the Code. In accordance with Rule 2.10 of the Code, Greene King confirms that as at the date of this announcement, it has in issue 219,002,994 ordinary shares of 12.5p each (excluding ordinary shares held in treasury). A further announcement will be made in due course.” Shares in Spirit, which was demerged from Punch Taverns in 2011 and runs pubs such as Chef & Brewer, Fayre & Square and Flaming Grill, were up 15% to 87.00p at 1.46pm.