Heineken and Carlsberg Nab Britain's Largest Brewer

On Friday, Jan. 25, 2008, Scottish & Newcastle plc (S&N) accepted a $15.5 billion takeover bid from the boards of Sunrise Acquisitions Limited, a newly incorporated company jointly owned by Carlsberg A/S and Heineken N.V. At the time of the announcement, Sir Brian Stewart, chairman, S&N, said, "The management and employees of S&N have built a group with strong brands enjoying leading positions in both mature markets in Western Europe and growing emerging markets. The S&N Board believes that the consortium's offer delivers a fair value for S&N, reflecting its growth prospects, and will be recommending that shareholders accept." Britain's largest brewer and brand-owner of Kronenbourg, Newcastle Brown Ale and Strongbow cider, will split its holdings between the two larger brewers in a deal that should be completed by the second quarter of 2008. Specifically, S&N's share of BBH, as well as the French, Greek, Chinese and Vietnamese operations, will be transferred to Carlsberg. For Carlsberg, this is a transformational transaction that will deliver a major increase in its operational scale and long-termgrowth prospects, resulting in the creation of one of the world's fastest growing global beer companies. Heineken will continue to hold the remaining businesses, principally the United Kingdom and Ireland, Portuguese, Finnish, Belgian, United States and Indian operations. For Heineken, the transaction will provide undisputed leadership in Europe and significant opportunities in profitable markets to grow the premium Heineken brand.