Carlsberg acquires Britvic

Britvic Accepts Carlsberg’s £3.3 Billion Offer After Declining Previous Bids

LONDON — Carlsberg is set to acquire Britvic in a £3.3 billion deal after the soft drinks giant rejected two previous bids.

The Danish brewer is offering 1,290 pence per Britvic share, with a dividend bringing the total to 1,315 pence per share, aiming to strengthen its presence in Great Britain, Western Europe, and Brazil.

On June 11, Britvic received a second proposal from Carlsberg valuing the company at 1,250 pence per share, or £3.1 billion. However, Britvic rejected the bid, stating it “significantly undervalues Britvic and its current and future prospects.” A week earlier, Carlsberg’s initial offer of 1,200 pence per share was also declined.

Britvic, the maker of Robinsons and Tango, is headquartered in Hemel Hempstead with roots in Somerset and factories in Rugby, London, and Leeds. It also has offices in Tamworth and Solihull.

To facilitate the acquisition, Carlsberg struck a deal with PepsiCo to waive a change-of-control clause in its long-term bottling agreement with Britvic, removing a potential obstacle.

The merger will create a single integrated beverage company, Carlsberg Britvic, led by a management team from Carlsberg, Britvic, and CMBC. The group aims to leverage the synergistic relationship between beer and soft drinks to enhance procurement, production, warehousing, and distribution efficiencies, better serving customer needs. Currently, soft drinks account for 16% of Carlsberg Group volumes and 27% of volumes in Western Europe.

Ian Durant, Non-Executive Chair of Britvic, commented: “Britvic is an outstanding business with a strong heritage built on its portfolio of family-favorite brands, long-standing customer relationships, a well-invested supply chain infrastructure, and a fantastic team across multiple markets. These factors have consistently delivered for Britvic’s stakeholders over time.

“The proposed transaction creates an enlarged international group well-placed to capture growth opportunities in multiple drinks sectors. In an industry increasingly shaped by consolidation among bottling partners, Carlsberg’s agreement with PepsiCo provides a strong platform for continued success.

“The Board of Directors believes this offer is strategically compelling and provides shareholders with the certainty of cash consideration reflecting Britvic’s current strength and medium-term prospects. It also addresses the challenges of achieving appropriate future valuation and alignment with PepsiCo’s bottling business. Therefore, the Board unanimously recommends the offer to our shareholders.”

Jacob Aarup-Andersen, CEO of Carlsberg, added: “This transaction combines Britvic’s high-quality soft drinks portfolio with Carlsberg’s strong beer portfolio and route-to-market capabilities, creating an enhanced proposition in the UK and Western Europe. The deal supports our growth ambitions and will be earnings accretive and value accretive by year three. We are excited about expanding our global partnership with PepsiCo and see long-term opportunities beneficial for both companies.

“We are pleased that Britvic’s Board is unanimously recommending our offer to shareholders. We look forward to welcoming Britvic’s employees into the Carlsberg family and creating an exciting, combined company. We are committed to accelerating commercial and supply chain investments in Britvic, aiming to make Carlsberg Britvic the preferred multi-beverage supplier in the UK.”

Silviu Popovici, CEO of PepsiCo Europe, stated: “We are eager to build on our successful partnerships with Carlsberg and Britvic. The combination of Carlsberg and Britvic will strengthen sales and distribution capabilities for our brands in key markets. We look forward to expanding our partnership further in the future.”