What the Sunday papers said

The Sunday Telegraph

• Two of Britain's biggest pub groups are about to change hands in deals involving more than 2,800 outlets with a combined value of up to £3.6bn. Scottish & Newcastle is poised to sign an exclusivity deal with Spirit, while tenanted pub Punch Taverns is locked in talks over the purchase of rival Pubmaster.

• Relations between the FA Premier League and European Competition Commissioner Mario Monti will hit a new low following the award of yet more football rights to BSkyB. Last week Monti expressed fierce opposition to the £1.02bn three season cointact for live TV rights. Under the latest deal BSkyB can broadcast all matches, either live or delayed.

Sunday Express​

• Plans for compulsory identity cards will cost taxpayers up to £10bn, three times what the Government claims. Privacy International, which is campaigning against ID cards, says Home Office estimates ignore vital parts of the cost of setting up the system, and estimates the real cost at around £150m per card.

• Health campaigners warn that a "miracle" cure for hangovers will trigger more alcoholism. Supporters of RU-21 - a pill popular in Los Angeles - claim it eliminates
  headaches, tiredness and irritability that follow a night on the town.The pill's manufacturers are looking to expand distribution to Europe in the near future.

Mail on Sunday​

• Bidders hoping to gatecrash the £2.5bn battle Scottish & Newcastle will be disappointed Allies of leisure entrepreneur Trevor Hemmings argued he was in a position to launch a bid without having won a place on the shortlist, but S&N insists the company is in talks only with the three core bidders.

The Business​

• Spirit Group is in pole position to win control of S&N's pubs, while Punch Taverns, the UK's biggest landlord, is understood to be in exclusive negotiations with Pubmaster. Punch has also informally approached Mitchells & Butlers and other companies in the sector.

• Alchemy Partners is in exclusive talks to sell its 1,100 InnSpired pubs business to County Estate Management. A successful acquisition would propel County Estate, which has been on the acquisition trail, up the league table of pub owners and will be the latest round of consolidation in the sector. Click here​ to view the article in full.

• The S&N pub auction has turned into a confusing affair, with various bidders and consortiums changing sides even after the official deadline for bids. The bidders want to conclude the talks soon so they can begin their own negotiations to sell various parts of the S&N portfolio.

Sunday Times​

• Karen Jones, the chief executive of Spirit, is set to emerge as one of the most powerful players in the pub industry. Jones is already an established operator in the leisure sector and previously co-founded Cafe Rouge, but winning the S&N pub deal would pitch her into the big league.

Financial Times - Weekend edition​

• Punch Taverns is understood to be in exclusive negotiations to take over rival Pubmaster. The deal could value Pubmaster's 1,485-strong estate at up to £1.2bn. Pubmaster boss John Sands is understood to have granted Punch exclusivity for a period of less than two weeks.