Scottish
The board of Scottish & Newcastle PLC accepted a takeover bid by brewing giants Carlsberg A/S and Heineken NV that values the British company at $15.3 billion, the companies said Friday.
Scottish & Newcastle, which had rejected two earlier bids, agreed to an all-cash offer of $15.68 per share, the companies announced.
The offer values the existing share capital of S&N at $14.9 billion, and the bidders said they plan to issue another £200 million worth of shares.
The price is a premium of 50.7 percent over the closing share price on March 28, the day before speculation arose about a possible bid for S&N.
If the deal goes through, Copenhagen-based Carlsberg would gain sole ownership of Baltic Beverages and S&N’s French, Greek and Chinese operations, while Amsterdam-based Heineken would take control of its British, American, Indian and other markets.
Baltic Beverages operates 19 breweries, holding the top position in the Russian, Baltic and Kazakh beer markets, and ranks third in Ukraine. Its brands include Baltika, Arsenalnoe, Slavutich and Alma-Ata.
"We now have full control of our destiny in Russia and other BBH territories and I am truly excited about the new opportunities this will present to us," said Jorgen Buhl Rasmussen, and CEO of Carlsberg payday loan.
Jean-Francois van Boxmeer, chairman and CEO of Heineken, said the deal made his company the leading brewer in Europe and created "significant opportunities in profitable markets to grow the premium Heineken brand."
Part of Heineken’s interest in S&N was getting into the UK cider market, which is growing nearly 20 percent per year, the company said.
Iain MacLean, national officer of the Unite union, said he was concerned about the possibility of cuts in Scottish & Newcastle’s workforce of 3,300.
"We have a meeting with Scottish and Newcastle next week and we will be looking for Carlsberg Heineken to guarantee the security of our members’ jobs," MacLean said.
Scottish & Newcastle (SNCWF) shares rose 2 percent to $15.31 on the London Stock Exchange.
Carlsberg (CABJF) shares gained 1.1 percent to $110.97 in Copenhagen.
Heineken (HINK.Y) shares advanced 2.8 percent to $60.68 in Amsterdam.