R.Unido.- Britvic rejects Carlsberg’s purchase offer for more than 3.6 billion

The Danish brewer, which is “considering its position”, has until July 19 to announce a proposal or withdraw

MADRID, 21 (EUROPA PRESS)

The British soft drink manufacturer Britvic has rejected a new purchase offer from the Danish brewer that was around 3.11 billion pounds (3.68 billion euros), as reported by the company in a statement.

Specifically, on June 11, Britvic received an unsolicited proposal from Carlsberg Group regarding a possible cash offer to acquire the company at a price of 1,250 pence per share.

In this sense, the British company has indicated that this was the second proposal raised by the Danish company, which had made a first offer on June 6 at a price of 1,200 pence per Britvic share.

After carefully considering this second proposal, Britvic’s board concluded that it “significantly undervalues” the company and its current and future prospects, and unanimously rejected the offer on June 17.

“The board remains confident in the current and future prospects of Britvic,” said the British management, although, in recognition of its fiduciary duties, it will consider any additional proposal on its merits, although there is no certainty that an offer will be made. firm by the company, nor about the terms of said offer, if any were made.

For its part, Carlsberg has defended that the proposed proposal represented “a compelling opportunity” for Britvic shareholders to obtain an attractive valuation for their investment and has assured that, after being rejected, “Carlsberg is considering its position.”

As such, it has stressed that it takes a disciplined approach to evaluating acquisition opportunities and will only proceed with a transaction that is strategically and financially attractive to Carlsberg, adding that its offer, if made, will likely be all-cash and funded entirely with debt.

According to British market regulations, Carlsberg has until July 19 to announce its firm intention to make an offer for Britvic or confirm that it has no intention of making an offer.