Macfarlanes and Linklaters have scored the key roles on the £100m takeover bid for Revolution Bars Group by Stonegate Pub Company, the owner of chains such as Slug & Lettuce and Yates.

Revolution has more than 50 bars across the UK trading under the Russian-themed Revolution brand, known for its range of vodka shots and cocktails, and the Revolucion de Cuba brand, which sells Cuban-themed food and cocktails.

The bar group is also being pursued by rival Deltic, which owns brands such as nightclub chains Oceana and PRYZM. Revolution's board rebuffed an offer to merge with Deltic on 15 August, but has granted Deltic due diligence access, and the company said in a statement today (24 August) that it was still considering another offer for Revolution.

Shares in Revolution fell steeply in May after a trading update in which CEO Mark McQuater blamed "industry-wide cost headwinds" and the slow maturation of new Revolucion de Cuba sites for anticipated flat profit for the year.

Macfarlanes is acting for Revolution on the deal, which values the chain at £101.5m. M&A partner Harry Coghill is leading for the firm, with tax partner Robert Collard advising on share schemes matters.

Speaking to Legal Week, Coghill said: "Having floated the Revolution business a couple of years ago, and advised it for many years before that, it is obviously the end of an era to see it taken back into private ownership. There is some way to go before we get this transaction over the line, but we're excited about the business's future and the value that this deal offers to shareholders."

Macfarlanes' relationship with Revolution began when it advised private equity house Alchemy on its acquisition of the brand in 2005, and the firm also acted on its flotation on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange in 2015.

Linklaters, meanwhile, is advising Stonegate and its majority shareholder, private equity firm TDR Capital, on the acquisition. Its team is being led by private equity partner Will Aitken-Davies and corporate partner Iain Wagstaff.

Norton Rose Fulbright is acting for Deltic with a team led by corporate partner Jon Perry.

Photo credit: Ben Sutherland Flickr