Carlsberg’s billion bid on Pepsi’s UK producer rejected

Carlsberg’s share price dropped by 9.3% to 858.60 DKK on Friday after the company’s bid on Britvic, a British producer of soft drinks including Pepsi Max, 7UP, and Mountain Dew, was rejected. The Danish brewing giant’s offer was said to amount to a valuation of Britvic at 27.4 billion DKK, while Britvic’s market value was around 22 billion DKK on Thursday, but Britvic found the bid too low. Carlsberg, having made several offers, is contemplating its next move, stating that any potential deal will only be pursued if it is strategically and economically beneficial for the company and its shareholders. Carlsberg has until July 19 to make a new offer. In contrast to Carlsberg, Britvic’s stock rose by 9.06% in London on Friday. Carlsberg aims to diversify its portfolio with a wider range of beverages beyond beer as it sees growing interest in non-beer categories.