(Alliance News) – Carlsberg Group announced an agreement with PepsiCo Inc on Monday, removing a potential obstacle to its attempted takeover of Britvic PLC.
Danish brewer Carlsberg said US drinks company PepsiCo has agreed to waive a so-called change of control clause as part of its long-term bottling deal with British soft drinks group Britvic.
This waiver will take effect if the acquisition of Britvic by Carlsberg is completed.
This clause was seen as a poison pill that could have prevented the Britvic acquisition by allowing Pepsi to terminate its bottling agreement, which would have made the British company a less attractive target for buyers.
So far, soft drinks maker Britvic, which produces Robinsons and is famous for its “posh tonics”, has rebuffed Carlsberg’s approaches.
On Friday, Hemel Hempstead-headquartered Britvic said it had rejected two proposed bids from Carlsberg, the second of which, made on June 11, valued the company at £3.20 billion, or 1,250 pence. per share.
Carlsberg believes the potential transaction would “enable it to capture the long-term growth opportunities offered by Britvic’s comprehensive portfolio of leading brands in an attractive segment of the beverage market where Carlsberg has already proven itself.”
But Britvic said the proposal undervalued the company and “unanimously” rejected the plan.
The Times reported on Friday that Carlsberg was preparing a third bid for Britvic, raising the stake to £3.58 billion.
On Monday, Carlsberg said it was reviewing its position and there was no certainty an offer would be made.
Shares in Britvic rose 7.5% to 1,175.53 pence each in London on Monday. Its market capitalization is £2.93 billion.
By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporter
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