From the DeskMonday, the two companies announced that Britvic, a producer of soft drinks, had agreed to a sweetened takeover offer from Carlsberg worth £3.28 billion ($4.2 billion). With a modest dividend of 1,315 pence per share, the agreed-upon deal offered Britvic 1,290 pence per share.
In June, Britvic turned down Carlsberg’s improved cash takeover offer of 1,250 pence per share of the British soft drink manufacturer. The proposal “significantly undervalues Britvic, and its current and future prospects” was stated at the time. Additionally, Britvic rejected Carlsberg’s previous June 6 offer price of 1,200 pence per share. “Creates an expanded international group that is well-placed to capture the growth opportunities in multiple drinks sectors,” according to Britvic’s non-executive chair Ian Durant. He also mentioned Carlsberg’s partnership with PepsiCo, which “provides the combined group with a strong platform for continued success,” as he put it. “Britvic’s high-quality soft drinks portfolio with Carlsberg’s strong beer portfolio and route-to-market capabilities, creating an enhanced proposition across the UK and markets in Western Europe,” Carlsberg CEO Jacob Aarup-Andersen said in the same statement. PepsiCo is vital to the arrangement, as Britvic bottles and appropriates PepsiCo brands in the U.K. what’s more, Ireland. In the bottling contract, Carlsberg and PepsiCo agreed to waive a “change of control clause” earlier this year.
