Greene King set to acquire Hardys & Hansons

June 15, 2006: Greene King has unveiled an agreed offer to buy fellow brewer Hardys & Hansons for £271 million.

Under the terms of the deal the Suffolk brewer would pay £10.59p per Hardys & Hansons share - that's more than £3 a share more than before news of the possible sale emerged at the beginning of the week.

Commenting on the proposals, Rooney Anand, chief executive of Greene King, said: “We believe this is a fair offer for Hardys & Hansons, a company we have long admired for its high quality estate, strong management team, dedicated staff and rich heritage.

"It represents a unique opportunity for us to achieve presence and scale in the East Midlands market, where we have been under-represented to date.

"The offer is consistent with our strategy to deliver shareholder value by augmenting our organic growth with selective acquisitions that improve the overall quality of the group. We are confident we can achieve good levels of synergies from the acquisition.

"Both Greene King and Hardys & Hansons are integrated operators with proud histories and similar cultures. Not only does Hardys & Hansons’ business complement ours; we understand and value its heritage. We look forward to continuing to grow Hardys & Hansons’ pub estate and develop relationships with management and staff, tenants, suppliers and customers.”

But the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has called on Hardys & Hansons shareholders to reject the takeover offer and draw a line in the sand on behalf of beer consumers.

Chief executive Mike Benner said: “If this deal goes through, history has shown us that Hardys & Hansons' brewery and beers will not be in safe hands.

"Now is the time for the shareholders who truly care about this excellent brewery with more than 174 years of history to make a stand and reject this offer.

“Today's announcement made scant reference to the future of the beers, the brewery or the staff. We believe if the shareholders don't block this now, Hardys & Hansons will be chewed up and spat out like so many before it.”

CAMRA is concerned that the acquisition of Hardys & Hansons' 268-strong pub estate would take the number of pubs owned by Greene King and selling its beers to around 2,680 nationwide, damaging consumer choice.

Mr Benner added: “In 2002 CAMRA warned the Government that the abolition of the guest beer right would result in a series of mergers and takeovers that would undermine competition and consumer choice. Do we want to find ourselves in a situation where every other pub sells only Greene King IPA?

"The guest beer right must be reintroduced before it is too late so that licensees can sell a beer of their choice to preserve the future for independent breweries.”