Carlsberg will buy Britvic for £3.3bn

Matthew Ashmore / Shutterstock.com

CARLSBERG has agreed to buy UK drinks manufacturer Britvic for £3.3bn (US$4.2bn) as it pushes ahead with its plans to reduce its reliance on beer sales.

Britvic, whose soft drinks brands include Robinsons, Fruit Shoot and J20, will recommend the sale to shareholders having rejected a bid last month of £3.1bn. Britvic has factories across the UK including in Leeds, London, and Rugby, and has a license to make, bottle and sell PepsiCo products including Pepsi Max and Lipton Ice Tea. Carlsberg is already PepsiCo’s bottler in other countries, including Norway and Sweden.

Carlsberg CEO Jacob Aarup-Andersen said the deal will support the company’s growth ambitions, which includes a strategy updated earlier this year to expand sales “beyond beer”. Britvic sells its drinks in more than 100 countries. Soft drinks currently account for 16% of Carlsberg’s drinks sales.

“We are excited about expanding our global partnership with PepsiCo and believe that the longer-term opportunities will be very beneficial for both companies,” Aarup-Andersen said.

The company expects the deal will lead to annual cost savings across both firms of £100m through cuts to administration and overheads.

Britvic has a storied history. The company was started during the 1930s by chemist HD Rawlings who made soft drinks as an affordable source of vitamins during the Great Depression. The British Vitamin Products Company changed its name to Britvic in 1971 and went on to purchase household brands including R Whites and Tango.