Carlsberg announces deal to buy Britvic

After two rejections that ‘undervalued’ the soft drink company, it has been announced today that Carlsberg has struck a deal to buy Britvic for £3.3bn

Britvic owns a number of brands, including Robinsons, Tango, FruitShoot, J2O and Aqua Libra, and is the main partner for PepsiCo in UK and Ireland. The soft drinks company just published its third-quarter trading update which revealed that in Great Britain, sales rose 6.6% year on year, with the retail and hospitality channels in growth. Group revenues also increased 6.3% to £502.9m in the three months to 30 June 2024, despite challenges with

Carlsberg also announced its intention to to buy the remaining 40% of its brewing joint venture with Marston’s for £206m. It follows an initial partnership struck in 2020 between the two, with Marston’s now to become a focused pub group.

Carlsberg said that it intended to create a single integrated beverage company in the UK, to be named Carlsberg Britvic with a management team made up of individuals from Carlsberg, Carlsberg Marston’s and Britvic.

Carlsberg Group CEO Jacob Aarup-Andersen described the deal as ‘supporting our growth ambitions’ and offering an ‘enhanced proposition across the UK and other markets in Western Europe’.

Aqua Libra Britvic Carlsberg FruitShoot J20 Robinson's Tango