Carlsberg revealed today (8 July) it is set to acquire Marston’s stake in their UK-based joint venture for £206m ($264m).
The Danish brewer announced the deal alongside Britvic’s board’s decision to back an improved takeover offer worth £3.3bn from Carlsberg.
Carlsberg said that the 100% ownership of Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company (CMBC) will facilitate full integration of Britvic and CMBC, but is still conditional on the approval of Marston’s shareholders.
The transaction is expected to occur in Carlsberg’s third quarter of 2024.
In a statement, the brewer said: “Marston’s will remain an important partner for the new enlarged business, and the long-term Drinks Supply and Distribution Agreement between Marston’s and CMBC will remain in place on substantially the same terms to ensure availability of CMBC’s brands across Marston’s pub estate.”
Carlsberg and UK brewing and pub company Marston’s combined their UK brewing operations through CMBC in 2020, when the Tuborg brewer paid £273m for its 60% controlling stake.
However, in the last few years, CMBC has made a number of brewery closures and sales.
Last December, it was unable to find a buyer for Ringwood Brewery, six months after putting the site in southern England up for sale.
In June 2023, CMBC set out plans to put the brewery – as well as ale brands including Razorback, Old Thumper, Boondoggle and Fortyniner – on the market.
Last September, the brewer said it would close its Wychwood Brewery in Oxfordshire, pointing to a competitive ale market and a “turbulent economic outlook” in the UK.
In May 2023, CMBC sold its already closed London Fields Brewery and taproom to London pub operator Grace Land Group.
The year before, the venture sold Eagle Brewery to S.A. Damm, a deal that gave the Spanish group its first brewery in the UK.
CMBC also announced the winding down and closure of Jennings Brewery in September 2022. The Lake District facility in north-west England had been operating at below capacity and the group said it had seen a “significant decline in volumes” in recent years.
More recently, Anheuser-Busch InBev revealed it is to take over the production, distribution and promotion of San Miguel beers in the UK from Carlsberg.
