Carlsberg has agreed to buy soft-drinks maker Britvic for £3.3bn in a deal that would allow the Danish brewer to expand its drinks bottling activities for PepsiCo and grow its operations in the UK (Financial Times £).
The brewer is offering £13.15 a share, which includes a 25p-a-share special dividend for Britvic shareholders (The Times £).
In a statement to the stock exchange on Monday, Carlsberg said Britvic’s board would unanimously recommend the deal (The Guardian).
Analysts suggested Carlsberg was buying Britvic on the cheap (Mail).
Alongside the Britvic acquisition, Carlsberg revealed it had bought out Marston’s 40% stake in the Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company for £206m (Mail).
The Guardian’s business editorial reckons its a good deal for Carlsberg but Britvic shareholders “might find a lack of fizz”. “Move makes compelling sense for the Danish brewer with the UK drinks maker a pawn in an eternal global battle,” the paper writes.
An in-depth article in The Times (£) says the Danish company’s agreed offer for soft drink brands such as Robinsons and R Whites is part of a growth strategy to target the non-alcohol market.
The Telegraph’s (£) business editorial bemoans that British brewers are dying out and taking authenticity with them as Marston’s exits beer making.
Former Tesco and Morrisons executive Gary Mills has backed out of a move to join Asda, just days after being appointed by the troubled supermarket, according to the Telegraph (£). The appointment as interim retail director had been announced internally last month, although it is understood Mills has since changed his mind.
Heatwaves and flooding have driven the average price of Indian tea leaves to more than £2 per kg, up almost 20% on last year, according to India’s Tea Board (The Times £).
Ocado Group intends to construct its third robotic warehouse in Japan as part of its tie-up with Aeon (Mail).
The online supermarket and technology group said it was expanding its partnership with Aeon, Japan’s largest grocer, with the launch of another customer fulfilment centre (The Times £).
Annual sales and profits have increased markedly at Superdrug after the health and beauty chain added more stores to its British high street estate (The Times £).
Shares in Delivery Hero fell more than a tenth after the German online food delivery group revealed it faces a potential fine from the EU for anti-competition violations, as the bloc steps up its scrutiny on corporate practices (Financial Times £).
Rachel Reeves has instructed the Treasury to examine state spending under the previous Conservative government, warning that Britain’s new Labour administration had inherited “the worst set of circumstances since the second world war” (Financial Times £).
Reeves said one of her first decisions in post had been to ask officials to provide an assessment of the UK’s public spending position so that she could better understand the scale of the challenge ahead (The Guardian).
Bird flu can spread to and be passed on via the mammary glands of mammals, a study has confirmed, explaining why the first outbreak in dairy cows is proving so “alarming” (The Times £).
Workers at Amazon’s Coventry warehouse have begun voting in a “historic” trade union recognition ballot that could allow UK employees of the online retailer to bargain collectively for rights and pay for the first time (The Guardian).
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