Shares
in
FTSE
250
soft
drinks
maker
Britvic
(BVIC)
have
jumped
4.8%
on
news
it
has
agreed
a
£3.3
billion
takeover
deal
by
Carlsberg
(CABGY).
The
Danish
brewer
has
pursued
an
acquisition
of
the
London-listed
Britvic,
the
maker
of
brands
such
as
J20
and
R
White’s
lemonade,
in
a
bid
to
expand
its
operations
in
the
UK.
The
deal
will
now
create
an
enlarged
group
named
Carlsberg
Britvic.
Britvic
accepted
a £12.90
cash
deal
for
each
of
its
shares,
which
will
also
mean
the
drink
maker’s
shareholders
receive
a
special
dividend
of
25p
per
share.
Over
the
last
five
days,
Britvic’s
share
price
is
up
7.91%
to
£12.68,
a
sign
that
investors
are
responding
positively
to
talk
of
a
takeover.
This
is
the
second
bid
Carlsberg
has
made
after
its
first
proposal
valued
the
business
at
£3.1
billion.
That
was
rejected
after
Britvic
said
the
original
offer
undervalued
the
company.
Britvic
also
has
an
exclusive
license
with
Pepsi
Co
(PEP)
to
produce
and
sell
Pepsi
Max,
7UP,
Rockstar
Energy
and
Lipton
Iced
Tea
in
Great
Britain
and
Ireland.
Carlsberg
chief
executive
Jacob
Aarup-Andersen
believes
buying
Britvic
will
take
its
relationship
with
PepsiCo
“to
the
next
level.”
Yet
some
Carlsberg
shareholders
have
called
into
question
why
the
firm
has
decided
to
expand
into
the
UK,
when
its
business
in
Asia
is
showing
such
promise. Other
opportunities
also
present
themselves
in
Southern
Europe.
Justifying
the
decision,
however,
Ararup-Andersen
said
“there
are
very
few
assets
available
out
there.
This
was
a
unique
opportunity.”
He
did
not
rule
out
future
acquisitions
in
the
aforementioned
regions.
The
LSE
Takes
Another
Hit
Carlsberg
(CARL
B)
is
listed
in
Copenhagen,
so
this
deal
means
Britvic
will
be
the
latest
business
to
leave
the
London
Stock
Exchange.
In
June,
Hargreaves
Lansdown
announced
it
had
accepted
a
bid
from
US
private
equity
giant
CVC
Capital,
Denmark’s
Nordic
Capital,
and
a
branch
of
the
Abu
Dhabi
Investment
Authority
valuing
the
Bristol-based
business
at
£5.4
billion.
That
deal
will
also
mean
Hargreaves
will
leave
its
FTSE
100
index.
In
September
last
year,
Cambridge-based
chip
designer Arm
Holdings
rejected
London
as
a
listing
opportunity in
favour
of
a
place
on
the
Nasdaq.
It
shares
have
since
prospered.
Betting
firm
Flutter
also
ditched
its
primary
London
listing
in
favour
of
New
York,
while
the
cyber
security
giant
Darktrace,
which
floated
in
London
2021, accepted
a
US
private
equity
bid
in
April
this
year.
Britvic
as
a
Business
Britvic
was
founded
in
Britain
in
1938
and
was
previously
known
as
the
British
Vitamin
Products
Company.
It
produced
soft
drinks
that
would
give
British
consumers
a
cheap
way
to
increase
their
vitamin
intake.
The
company’s
success
led
it
to
expand
producing
39
drinks
brands
whilst
exporting
to
100
countries
worldwide.
In
May
the
business
announced
strong
revenue
growth
driven
by
demand
in
international
markets.
It
also
announced
a
£75
million
share
buyback
scheme
and
reported
an
11%
increase
in
its
revenue
for
the
six
months
to
the
end
of
March
31
from
£794
million
to
£880
million.
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