Stonegate Pub, a British pub company with 770 pubs and bars, offered to acquire Ei Group, the pub company in the UK, for $3.9bn in an all-cash deal. The purchase price represents a premium of approximately 38.5% to the closing price of 205.8 pence per Ei Group share on 17 July 2019. EIG and Stonegate both believe that there are strong strategic reasons for combining the two groups with their complementary portfolios and skills, and that this combination has the potential to deliver benefits to customers, tenants, employees and other stakeholders. "In 2015 we set out a new strategy. During the past four years we have made great progress in its execution and have delivered a significant increase in value for our shareholders. The management team have done an outstanding job and the Acquisition, at a significant premium, is only possible because of the work that they have done and what has been achieved. The Acquisition delivers the future value of the strategy for our shareholders and secures an exciting future for our tenants and employees by creating the leading managed and tenanted pub company in the industry." Robert Walker, Ei Group Chairman. The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has given provisional approval to the merger on December 11, 2019.