Danish brewing giant Carlsberg agrees £3.3bn deal to buy Britvic

Carlsberg will pay 1,315p per share to Britvic investors under the deal.

The brewing giant had been expected to return with a stronger offer after PepsiCo struck a deal with Carlsberg which would preserve Britvic’s bottling agreement with the US drinks giant in the event of a takeover.

Ian Durant, non-executive chairman of Britvic, said: “The proposed transaction creates an enlarged international group that is well-placed to capture the growth opportunities in multiple drinks sectors.”

In a separate deal on Monday, Carlsberg also agreed to take control of its UK brewing joint venture with Marston’s, the Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company, which makes brands including Hobgoblin and Pedigree.

Marston’s confirmed it will receive £206m to sell Carlsberg its 40 per cent stake in the venture.

Carlsberg Group CEO Jacob Aarup-Andersen 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 other markets in Western Europe.

"The proposed transaction is attractive for shareholders of Carlsberg, supporting our growth ambitions, being immediately earnings accretive and value-accretive in year three.

"We are excited about expanding our global partnership with PepsiCo and believe that the longer-term opportunities will be very beneficial for both companies.

“We are pleased that the Britvic Board is unanimously recommending our offer to Britvic Shareholders.

He added: “We look forward to welcoming Britvic’s employees into the Carlsberg family and creating an exciting, combined company for all employees.

"We are committed to accelerating commercial and supply chain investments in Britvic, and we are confident that Carlsberg Britvic will become the preferred multi- beverage supplier to customers in the UK with a comprehensive portfolio of market-leading brands.”

CEO of PepsiCo Europe Silviu Popovici said: “We are looking forward to building on our long-standing and successful partnerships with both Carlsberg and Britvic.

"We believe that the combination of Carlsberg and Britvic will create even stronger sales and distribution capabilities for our winning brands in important markets.

"We look forward to continuing to expand the partnership into further important markets in the future."