The UK soft drinks maker Britvic has agreed to an improved £3.3bn takeover offer from the Danish brewer Carlsberg.
Britvic, whose brands include J20, Robinsons and R White’s lemonade, accepted the £13.15 a share offer after rejecting previous takeover offers from Carlsberg on the grounds that they undervalued the company.
In a statement to the stock exchange on Monday, Carlsberg said Britvic’s board would unanimously recommend the deal, which comprises £12.90 in cash for each Britvic share and a special dividend payment of 25p for each share. The deal would create a new enlarged group named Carlsberg Britvic.
Britvic shares rose 4.5% on Monday to £12.65, making it one of the top risers on the FTSE 250.
The deal will need the backing of 75% of Britvic investors in a shareholder vote.
Britvic was founded in the UK in the 1930s as the British Vitamin Products Company and used soft drinks as an affordable way of supplying vitamins to consumers. It has 39 brands in 100 countries including Brazil, France and Ireland.
It also has an exclusive licence with PepsiCo in Great Britain and Ireland to make and sell Pepsi Max, 7UP, Rockstar Energy and Lipton Ice Tea.
As part of the deal, Carlsberg has secured agreement from Pepsico to waive a clause in its bottling contract with Britvic that would have allowed it to cancel the arrangement on the event of a change of ownership.
Jacob Aarup-Andersen, the Carlsberg chief executive, said: “With this transaction, we are combining 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 has said the acquisition would create annual cost savings of about £100m over five years, including through procurement and supply chain efficiencies as well as economies in administration and overheads.
Ian Durant, the Britvic non-executive chair, said: “The proposed transaction creates an enlarged international group that is well-placed to capture the growth opportunities in multiple drinks sectors.
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“Crucially, to remain competitive at a time when the market is being shaped by the trend of increasing consolidation among bottling partners, Carlsberg’s agreement with PepsiCo provides the combined group with a strong platform for continued success.”
Carlsberg also announced on Monday that it had separately agreed a deal to acquire Marston’s minority stake in Carlsberg Marston’s, the company’s brewing business in the UK, which is now the fourth biggest beer company in the country.
It said that Marston’s would remain an important partner for the new enlarged business and its long-term drinks supply and distribution agreement would remain in place.
The deal means that Marston’s will abandon its roots as a brewer – previously known as Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries – stretching back to 1875. Carlsberg will take complete control of ales including Hobgoblin, Brakspear, Pedigree and Wainwright.
