On 18 July 2019, the boards of directors of Ei Group plc and Stonegate Pub Company Bidco Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Stonegate Pub Company Limited, announced that they had reached agreement on the terms of a recommended all-cash acquisition of the entire issued and to be issued share capital of EIG by Stonegate ("Acquisition") to be effected by means of a scheme of arrangement under Part 26 of the Companies Act 2006 ("Scheme"). On 27 February 2020, EIG announced that the Court had sanctioned the Scheme at the Court Hearing held that day. EIG and Stonegate announced that, following the delivery of the Court Order to the Registrar of Companies on 3 March 2020, the Scheme has now become Effective and the entire issued share capital of EIG is now owned by Stonegate. As the Scheme has become Effective, EIG announced that Robert Walker, Simon Townsend, Neil Smith, Adam Fowle, Marisa Cassoni, Peter Baguley and Jane Bednall have resigned as directors of EIG and Ian Payne, Simon Longbottom, David Ross, Brian Magnus and Manjit Dale are appointed as directors of EIG, in each case with effect from March 3, 2020.