The Wall Street Journal-20080205-In Brief
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In Brief
Full Text (300 words)Punch Taverns
Looks at a Rival
British pub operator Punch Taverns PLC is in talks with rival Mitchells & Butlers PLC after making an approach for the company. The deal would create by far the U.K.'s largest pub company, valued at GBP 3.7 billion ($7.3 billion) and consisting of 10,500 pubs throughout the country. Shareholders in Punch and Mitchells would each own half of the combined company, and Mitchells shareholders would also get a cash payment of GBP 175 million. Punch Chief Executive Giles Thorley would be chief executive of the new company, with Mitchells CEO Tim Clarke the chairman.
CVC Asia Will Buy
A Tourism Firm
Australian asset manager MFS Ltd. said it agreed to sell 65% of its Stella Group hospitality and tourism unit to private-equity firm CVC Asia Pacific. The deal gives Stella an enterprise value around 1.5 billion Australian dollars, or about US$1.4 billion, below the A$2 billion at which some analysts have valued the group. But the transaction may ease the woes of MFS, which saw its market capitalization halved in January. The sale will deliver A$409 million in cash that MFS can use to pay off short-term debt, and will shift Stella's A$900 million of debt off the MFS balance sheet.
Morgan Stanley's Wu
Leaves the Company
Wall Street firm Morgan Stanley said its Asia Pacific Vice Chairman, C.G. Wu, resigned last week for personal reasons. A spokeswoman for the investment house said that Mr. Wu had been in charge of the company's overall client relationships in the region. She declined to comment on whether Morgan Stanley is seeking someone to fill the vacancy left by Mr. Wu, who wasn't available to comment. Morgan Stanley has been moving to boost its presence in the Asia-Pacific region, with China as one of its focus areas.
