Whitbread tables £36m bid for Coffeeheaven
Whitbread has made a £36m cash offer for Coffeeheaven, the UK-owned operator of 90 coffee shops in central and eastern Europe.
The move, which followed last Friday's announcement that Whitbread was in "advanced discussions" over a potential deal, would see Coffeeheaven managed as a subsidiary of Costa.
The Coffeeheaven directors intend unanimously to recommend that its shareholders accept the offer and analysts expect the deal to proceed "very smoothly".
John Derkach, managing director of Costa, which saw like-for-like sales rise by 6.7% for the quarter to 26 November, said the acquisition will provide an "important step forward" for the group's international expansion plan.
"This transaction will give Costa a strong position in the important and rapidly growing central and eastern European market," he said.
Richard Worthington, executive chairman of Coffeeheaven, added: "Our business should benefit from the substantial resources available to Costa and our staff will have the opportunity to work within a much larger group to continue to grow and develop the business."
The Coffeeheaven Group operates 62 coffee shops in Poland, 14 shops in the Czech Republic and 14 shops across Bulgaria, Hungary and Latvia.
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By Daniel Thomas
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