The British catering and leisure group WHITBREAD has sold its 3,000 pubs to the investment fund MORGAN GRENFELL PRIVATE EQUITY, subsidiary of the DEUTSCHE BANK, for a total of £1.63 bn. To carry off this transaction MGPE will set up a company called NEWCO that will itself make a cash bid to WHITBREAD. As a reminder, the British group has received several offers for its pubs, notably from the Japanese bank NOMURA and the British group PUNCH. See inter alia E.I. of 25 October.