EI Group Share News (EIG)

(Sharecast News) - The sale by Ei Group of 350-pub properties has progressed through to the second round, with several investment funds interested.As part of its final results last month, EI said that it was "exploring monetisation of the commercial property portfolio which may include the disposal of all or part of the portfolio".Beer and pubs campaign organisation CAMRA has urged the group not to sell its pubs to developers and rather ensure the pubs are bought by another operator.The portfolio, estimated to include between 350 and 410 pubs, has a book value of around £340m, according to articles from trade titles MCA Insights and Propel, with investment funds Aries Capital, Fortress Investment Group and Davidson Kempner as well as Cerberus and NewRiver named. Second round bids are due by the end of next week.Broker Liberum said the completion of a deal at or near book value would be "a significant catalyst for stock re-rating - underpinning NAV valuation, deleveraging, providing scope of earnings accretive share buyback and future dividends".Analysts at Peel Hunt suggested a sale could attract fetch around £400m.