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Carslberg has announced it has agreed to buy Canadian craft brewer Waterloo Brewing for a total equity value of CAD144m (£86m).
Carlsberg said the deal will strengthen its market position in Canada with local production and Waterloo Brewing’s brands, and to deliver significant supply chain and revenue synergies.
It said Carlsberg’s international beer and cider portfolio complements Waterloo Brewing’s portfolio of local beers and ready-to-drink beverages “creating a highly competitive company in the Canadian beer and RTD market”.
In addition, Waterloo Brewing’s production facility in Kitchener, Ontario, will produce some of the Carlsberg Group’s brands, including Somersby cider, which has been produced at Waterloo Brewing since 2020.
The transaction is expected to close early in the first half of 2023, subject to approval by Waterloo Brewing’s shareholders and other customary closing conditions.
Carlsberg Group CEO Cees ’t Hart says: “One of the priorities of our SAIL’27 strategy is to grow our business in attractive markets where we are small today, such as Canada. The acquisition of Waterloo Brewing significantly improves our growth prospects in the Canadian market.”
Waterloo Brewing President and CEO George Croft says: “We’ve enjoyed a close relationship with Carlsberg and are excited about becoming part of one of the largest brewing companies in the world. Waterloo Brewing will be a great fit with Carlsberg’s strong, purpose-driven culture, and our Board of Directors is confident that joining Carlsberg is the best long-term solution for our employees, partners, customers, consumers and community.”
Waterloo Brewing is Ontario’s largest Canadian-owned brewery. Founded in 1984, Waterloo was the first craft brewery to start up in Ontario and is credited with pioneering the present-day craft brewing renaissance in Canada, the joint statement said.
In 2011, Waterloo Brewing purchased the Canadian rights to Seagram Coolers, and in 2015 secured the exclusive Canadian rights to both LandShark and Margaritaville.
Morning update
Speciality agriculture and engineering group, Carr’s Group, has announced the appointment of David White as CFO.
White will join the Group on 3 January 2023 and become CFO upon Neil Austin standing down from the board in mid-January 2023.
He has spent the previous 16 years in a variety of senior finance roles at Aggreko, the international provider of mobile power solutions. Between 2018 and late 2021, David was finance director of the global products and technology division and, until mid-2022, he served as a senior adviser to the company.
White commented: “I am thrilled to be joining Carr’s at this important time for the Group. Following the Company’s strategic review, Carr’s is well positioned, and I look forward to contributing towards its future successes.”
CEO Peter Page added: “David brings considerable financial, commercial, and international experience from his time at Aggreko which has equipped him well to lead the Group’s finance team. With David’s involvement, we will fulfil our strategic objectives to generate value for shareholders.”
On the markets this morning, the FTSE 100 is down 0.7% to 7,447.4pts.
Risers include Bakkavor, up 4.2% to 99p, PayPoint, up 1.9% to 514.3p and British American Tobacco, up 0.8% to 3,293.5p.
Fallers include Just Eat Takeaway.com, down 3% to 1,813.4p, Associated British Foods, down 3.1% to 1,577.5p and THG, down 4.3% to 56.3p.
Yesterday in the City
The FTSE 100 ended the day down 0.1% to 7,495.9pts.
Fallers yesterday included THG, down 6.6% to 58.9p, Nichols, down 3.2% to 1,075p, Just Eat Takeaway.com, down 2.1% to 1,870p, Cranswick, down 2.1% to 102p, Ocado Group, down 1.6% to 688.6p and McBride, down 1.5% to 19.9p.
The day’s risers included Naked Wines, up 4.9% to 107.7p, Kerry Group, up 2% to 87.7p, AG Barr, up 2% to 515p, WH Smith, up 1.8% to 1,537.5p, PZ Cussons up 1.4% to 215.5p and Compass Group, up 1.4% to 1,925p.
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