Interbrew has been given until February to find a buyer for Carling following the Department of Trade and Industry's ruling this week on its takeover of Bass. And the brewer said it hopes to have the issue resolved by the end of December. Although Interbrew would not be drawn, the industry has taken this to mean it has a buyer, or buyers, lined up. Secretary of state Patricia Hewitt gave the Belgian brewer the choice of keeping Carling and selling the rest, or vice versa. Interbrew has chosen to retain Bass Brewers' Scotland and Northern Ireland businesses and the rights to the Tennent's and Bass Ale brands. Chief executive Hugo Powell said: "This clears the way for us to strengthen our UK business. The combination of scale, brands and regional positioning will create a solid platform for growth." The result of the DTI decision is that Scottish and Newcastle retains its role as the country's leading brewer with 26% of the market. Whoever buys Carling will have 19%, Interbrew has 15% and Carlsberg-Tetley 12%. The most likely candidate to buy Carling is Dutch brewer Heineken, but South African Breweries and Anheuser- Busch from the US have also been in the running. Interbrew said it had been approached by a number of different parties in the past and wanted to start the sale process as quickly as possible. If Heineken makes a bid, and the price could be as high as £1.5bn, it would probably take the option of concentrating on Heineken Export as the premium brand with Carling as the standard. A spokesman for Scottish and Newcastle said: "Whoever buys it, this marks an important milestone for the industry which will finally reach the end of a long period of uncertainty. A large part of the UK brewing industry has been in the hands of people not committed to it." The parent companies of both the Whitbread and Bass brewing businesses sold them to concentrate on hotel, pub and restaurant divisions. The S&N spokesman said: "We don't mind who buys Carling as long as they are people who want to be in the brewing industry. We will be happy to compete with the best in the business." He said pricing strategies could change as a result. "In the past people who have taken a short-term position have operated on a price platform. Now we are unlikely to have players for whom this will be a lead strategy." {{NEWS }}

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