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Very much late in the day, I wonder if Camra's objections carried any weight in this decision ? If so it is probably an own goal.
Nevertheless these things usually take months, which for Mars could be tricky even with their pubs now re-opened.
Not trying to be Mr Dismal but the SP has held up, (at present anyway), rather better than I thought it would after this news.
It does raise the prospect again of a bid for the whole company, but after Greene King yesterday I doubt we will have much chance of that in this post covid world.
late in the day so to speak.
From front page of LSE:
Alliance News) - The UK's competition regulator on Wednesday said it will probe the joint venture between UK brewer and pub operator Marston's PLC and Carlsberg UK Holdings Ltd.
Shares in Marston's were down 1.7% at at 50.00 pence each in London.
The monopoly watchdog said it is considering whether the proposed brewing and distribution joint venture between Marston's and Danish brewer Carlsberg will result in the creation of a relevant merger situation and lead to a substantial lessening of competition in the UK.
Marston's and Carlsberg in May had announced the formation of a new joint venture for brewing and distribution in the UK, resulting in a large cash payment to Marston's.
Under the agreement, FTSE 250-listed Marston's would receive a 40% stake in the Carlsberg Marston's Brewing Co joint venture, plus a balancing cash payment of up to GBP273 million.
The joint venture had valued Marston's brewing business at GBP580 million and Carlsberg's UK brewing business at GBP200 million.
Marston's had said it would use the proceeds from the joint venture to cut debts. In March, the company had commenced a debt reduction programme with the goal of reducing debt by GBP200 million by 2023. As at the end of 2019, Marston's net debt was GBP1.39 billion.
In announcing interim results in June, Chief Executive Officer Ralph Findlay said: "Looking ahead, our transformational deal with Carlsberg positions the company well for the future. Post completion, Marston's will be a focussed pub and accommodation business with a significantly strengthened balance sheet, well placed to rebuild trading momentum and leverage the market opportunities available to us over the medium to longer term."
The Competition & Markets Authority is inviting comments on the transaction until September 2.
By Tapan Panchal; tapanpanchal@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
The JV was supposed to be finalised at some point soon wasn’t it? - no idea of the dates though
Well I stayed at the Crown in Droitwich last night marstons Territory we arrived at 815 the bar wasn’t overly full ( perhaps the crowds had been and gone ) there is a harvester up the road . But I have to say the food was fantastic we spent £78 well after the 20% discount from my shareholder card which is the first time I’ve used it plus the eat out deal it reduced it to £28! Overall after chatting to the staff they said they have been really busy in August ,
On our way home tonight we passed several marstons pubs ,some car parks were packed some 50% but for a Tuesday that’s pretty damn good,
Sales wise some pubs I know have been drunk dry after re-opening ( not marstons but a potential indicator) with sales at some up 50% year on year, so I have £400 in the kitty and may add to my position tomorrow
yeah i imagine so and then filled at weekends by people wanting a beer -
any idea on the next update from Marstons?
Without a doubt, Marston's has something like over 1400 establishments and I can guarantee they have all been booked up between Monday - Wednesday with the eat out to help out scheme.
Does anybody have the date for the next update - Hopefully the mon-weds deal with prop this back up
I don't think so, I used to frequent spoons for its fish nights and nice pizza and beer for 7 quid. I look elsewhere due to his headline of telling staff to get a job in Tesco.
They had a problem at my local one a few weeks 140 fire limit with 240 inside, cops shut it down and referred them to licensing board, well deserved when local bars are adhering carefully to rules when spoons think they are above them.
Good point, but if you enter the FTSE 350, by some miracle, you also enter the FTSE 250. It is sheer magic.
Worth noting that todays Guardian is running a negative article on Spoons, long article, worth a read online just trying to stir up anti pub sentiment I suspect
Fair dealer. I’m really not attacking you or Barchild.
Posted myself here a few weeks back and was a little surprised at the way BC responded, as such I decided to look at his previous posts regarding Mars to get a feel for his investment type and the way in which others are dealt with - you see how I didn’t take it personal there ? The statement made by Oracle back then wasn’t all that ludicrous was it, when within 5 months it came into fruition as he posted. The wild zero that followed was likely a result of guys poking the bear thereafter. You seem like a reasonable guy, and I’m aware you’ve both been here together some of the duration, one appears to bounce off the other somewhat. What I’m suggesting is likewise, where some of us have £1 + expectations... it really isn’t that ludicrous when you look past what’s right in front of you. Of course if that does come about within the next 5 months we can forget about all this and the posters that anticipated it and then bang on about how fundamentals have changed and what that means for Mars in that moment. Concrete thinkers vs Abstract thinkers - there’s the one size fits all answer to all the wild and pointless interrogations.
Triumph you clearly have difficulty recognising the difference between fact and fiction when taking comments out of context.
Understand numbers are not your strong point, but do not conceal a lack of understanding by invention.
Read my words carefully in relation to a fund raise and then you may be able to get a grip of the mechanisms employed.
You believe or try make others believe Brokers have no control over share prices. Think again and at the same time check the Fundamentals of Marstons. Hope the BOD have seen the company's elevation to not just the FTSE 350 but higher still, the FTSE 250. This alone will add great value to the Company, just think of the Instituions who will now be buying in.
What a joke you are when you cannot get the basics right.
You are right, you will never win an argument when the plain simple basic FACTS are utterly wrong.
PP thanks for digging out the post just a pity you chose to target 2 posters when several others responded to Oracle1953 thread. Those posts were highly critical and remarked the statement was ludicrous. As for my post on the thread it merely questioned Oracle's thinking state and remined him the asset value supports the SP. This is a position I have consistently stated.
It is also poor form to have not identified Oracle's thread where he claimed the share was worth Zero until the company taps it's shareholders and then there would be dilution. Several commented, I did not as Oracle knows little about the finances of Marstons as do others here.
Even radio 4 is running a story about infection rates levelling out and that cases don’t warrant hospital visits as much as they used to - maybe we’re onto the next stage - persuading everyone back out and back to work. Here’s to that.
It will be back in the 50`s before end of day imo. Long term prospects very good and happy to top up this morning.
I'm quite bullish on this one. I only have a small 4000 share holding here, but still. I think once normality resumes everything will be fine. Who's not going to want to go to the pub to celebrate the end of all this bloody nonsense? The serious drop in sp we're currently experiencing is a perfect opportunity to top up whenever you can.
Another one I am in is SGC. This is Another one I am confident in that I have recently added to. For the same reason. When normality returns, they too will benefit.
Well, at least one thing is clear. Looks like the marstons brokers have given in propping up the FTSE 250 index, so by fairdealers logic, a placing shouldnt happen now. I'm sure everyone is relieved.
Well put mate. These boards are full of people ready to insult and deride those whose opinions don't gel with there own. For me it just means a lot of green boxes.
I’m bullish moving forward as long as we get nothing unexpected beforehand. Based off recent postings I’ve trimmed my holding a little more cautiously in order to take full advantage of any potential RI etc. The risk I now hold however is that if all goes well and suggested doesn’t come into play then my overall gain will be reduced as a result of that. Swings and roundabouts ehhh... core holding will now remain intact until further company updates.
No aspersions fella.
Posted by Barchid -
RE: big fall coming
15 Oct 2019 16:20
Oracle
If you really think they will go to 27p why did you not impart this esteemed knowledge on us all when they were 130p ?
Or were you perhaps thinking then that they would go up to 270p ?
Kindly enlighten us.
Does every post that doesn’t fall in line with your ways of thinking really warrant detailed explanations to justify such postings. The above shows clearly, that even whilst one appears to be in the know, one is also very much wrong also - over time.
You guys need to remember this is a bulletin board, take a few steps back and chill some. There are going to be mixed opinions. There are also going to be forward looking or backward looking statements based on beliefs rather than the cold hard facts some struggle to see past. It is what is and will be what it will be. It’s just a question of time.
Decided to stop by a pub in the West Midlands after a morning trekking on Wednesday (The Generous George) which looked presentable and was packed with people (socially distanced on tables) but with a good atmosphere. We arrived approx 12:30.
Upon entering I realised it was a Marston pub. I was quite impressed with the uptake of the EOTHO scheme and I must say for £5 the steak and trimmings was delicious. Beforehand, management quickly showed us the COVID protocols and we were escorted to a table near an open door due to the heat (possibly to help with ventilation as-well). Overall all four members of our party were happy with our meals and service and I asked them if we had come on a THU/FRI etc would they have all paid full price to which they said yes (me included).
My point: - I'm intrigued to see what management will do to "improve" the pubs in their "new strategy" when it becomes available as we had a great experience all round anyway at present. Does anyone have any assumptions as I know not all pubs will be the same.
My secondary question to follow holders: - Are you bullish on Mars moving forward or bearish once the pandemic is behind us assuming the JV closes in Q4 and the management view (when released) is as previously stated via the RNS to focus on improving the pubs?
As i said before this is an argument i will never win because you clearly have your claws in deep here for some reason you still fail to disclose. There are 100s of companies in a far worse position than MARS so why not spread your wisdom there? I'm sure there are many companies that can do with your amazing insight. So i challenge you to tell us all what your beef is with MARS? Or are you an armchair troll? Its a simple question is it not, and don't try to obfuscate my questioning as abuse, that's just sad.
And i am so sorry some disagree with your definition of fact, as it appears that you seem to define fact as your interpretation of things. Ill help you by making a 'specific reference' as you clearly failed to see the specific reference made before. This is regarding your comment about why the share price went from 36p to 50p, which leads me nicely onto my challenge you set me. I have never disputed any financial analysis re debt levels as although it may be hard for you to believe, i can read and understand the squiggly lines that we all call numbers. I don't recall disputing posts regarding this, please could you remind us all when i disputed any hard financials? But i like the way you try to divert attention away from your stupid comment made which was the sole purpose of questioning whether you are a troll or not. Very transparent.... please try harder. At least you indirectly or subconsciously acknowledge how silly that comment was.
So the challenge, which i have already explained my reasoning but perhaps you missed it or you need a longer version to understand. So, have you seen the FTSE 250 index? Perhaps you could overlay this chart with the chart of MARS, MAB, JDW, RTN and the general sector? Now unless Marstons brokers have grown long arms indeed and have managed to drag up the entire index just to get a placing away for marstons, your interpretation of the rise is either at best down to your extremely poor analytical skills and bizarre thought processes, or as i stated before a disgruntled armchair troll with a sole aim to dampen sentiment at worst. So which is it? If the rise was isolated to MARS alone, perhaps i would be more inclined to agree with your assessment. However analysing others in the sector, along with the index as a whole, one is lead to logically to conclude that the rise is more likely down to a general change in sentiment from an extreme oversold position. Fair assessment?
So did i pass? Credibility restored? Now lets see if you can manage to do the same.
PP before casting aspersions it would be helpful to have identified the postings to which you refer. Oracle is a pseudonym for a poster who seems to have disappeared sometime ago. Do you know him/her?
Whilst you are trawling posts to give us accurate information, it is true to point out for a considerable time MARS had a trading cycle of low/mid 90p to mid/upper 120's when the dividend was very attractive. Any comparison between now and 2/3 years ago is completely erroneous, as you say we now have COVID and the ramifications that are going along with it.
I'll not bore you with the background financials as am sure you have it at your fingertips and will be fully aware how debt impacts on a Company's ability to produce results Shareholders expect.
Look forward to viewing the posts to which you refer.
The one thing I don’t get is back when this was £1.20 p/s a poster called Oracle posted here and was calling 20p p/s as per BC chat history. Barchild and possibly also yourself flamed him for this and demanded he elaborated on such nonsense - low and behold covid came and that exact outcome has happened. Now we are where we are all of a sudden you’ve both turned pessimists instead and that is what I don’t get. Is there a need for it to be explained ? Most likely not.
Thereality is that none of us can accurately predict the future and in short that is what creates a market.