Piedmont keeps Mitchells and Butlers options open

Piedmont, the investment vehicle of Bahamas-based billionaire Joe Lewis
that is contemplating making a bid for pubs and restaurant group Mitchells and Butlers, is keeping its options open as regards the offer price, saying 230p is not necessarily the top price it would be prepared to pay.

The company, which has a 22.8% stake in Mitchells and Butlers (M&B), said on Monday that it was pondering making a 230p per share offer for M^B, and press reports have subsequently indicated that this represents Piedmont's "final bid".

Piedmont has issued a statement saying it reserves the right to increase its offer price above 230p per M&B share were a takeover bid to be launched.

At the same time, Piedmont has not ruled out the possibility of making a lower offer, especially if a rival bidder emerges offering less than 230p a share. Piedmont also covered itself by saying the offer price might also be lower than 230p should M&B return cash to shareholders, or if M&B issues new shares.

The share price of M&B is currently around 260p, suggesting that the market is anticipating that Lewis will have to stump up more than 230p a share to win over the board, but the prospects of a counter-bid look slight given Piedmont's 22.8% stake in M&B.

via sharecast.com

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