According to press reports, the UK regional brewing force, Wolverhampton & Dudley (W&D), is emerging as a possible bidder for the Dorset-based pub group, Eldridge Pope. Eldridge Pope said last month that it was in negotiations regarding a possible takeover.
W&D, which owns and operates 1,630 pubs and also produces the Banks’s and Marston’s Pedigree beer brands, is thought to be considering an offer in the region of £49m, or around 200p per share.
It had been thought that Eldridge Pope was once again in negotiations with Greene King which had pursued a takeover of the company in 2001. Those talks foundered when family shareholders, who control about 25% of the company, disagreed with Greene King’s valuation.
Interestingly, Greene King was thought then to be offering around 250p-per-share, with the shareholder group holding out for 300p a share. However, since 2001 Eldridge Pope is thought to have been significantly weakened by poor trading and challenging economic conditions. The pub operator announced in February that it was forecasting a small loss for the six-month period to the end of March 2003.
