PUB group Pubmaster has clinched a £523m deal to buy rival Inn Partnership and increase in size by almost two thirds.
The deal, with Japanese bank Nomura, will give the Hartlepool firm 1,200 more outlets, bringing its total estate to 3,200 across the UK, and giving it a presence in the North-West, South-West and Midlands.
Pubmaster chief executive John Sands said: ''This is a significant acquisition that increases the size of Pubmaster's estate by more than 60 per cent and confirms our position as one of the UK's most ambitious pub companies.
The purchase follows Pubmaster's failure last August to buy regional brewer Wolverhampton & Dudley.
Under the deal, Pubmaster, the fourth largest pub group in the UK, has paid £101m for the business' equity and £422m for debt.
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