Leading UK pub company Punch Taverns has issued a statement denying reports that it has approached Mitchells & Butlers (M & B) to discuss a merger. UK newspaper The Times reported on Saturday that the two companies were in talks to bring about a EUR 7 bn merger that would result in the largest pub group in the UK with 11,000 premises. Listed on the London Stock Exchange Punch's share price went up 14 pence to 854 pence on Friday while M & B's shares rose 41 pemce to 641 pence. According to The Times, bankers at Morgan Stanley, which is acting for Punch, have broached the idea of the deal with the company's top shareholders such as London hedge fund Marshall Wace and the American investment house Alliance Bernstein.
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