UK: Scottish & Newcastle says BBH case to take until June or July

A Swedish court is likely to take until June or July to rule on Scottish & Newcastle's attempt to make Carlsberg sell its half of their Baltic Beverages Holding (BBH) joint venture, S&N chief executive John Dunsmore told Reuters November 23.

The dispute arose when Carlsberg, the world's fifth-largest brewer by volume, joined forces with Heineken, the fourth-largest, to bid for S&N, the sixth-largest, which S&N said broke the partnership agreement in Russia-based BBH.

Last week Carlsberg and Heineken raised their proposed bid to 750 pence a share from last month's 720p opening bid, valuing the Edinburgh-based S&N at 7.3 billion pounds ($15.11 billion).

After the first approach, S&N gave notice to Carlsberg of a possible breach of the BBH agreement and said the conditional offer had triggered the so-called shotgun agreement that allows either party to buy the other out of BBH.

"We're very confident in the position we're taking," Dunsmore said after a presentation to analysts in Copenhagen. "We're in consultations with our shareholders all the time. We make decisions based on what we think is going to create value for shareholders."

Dunsmore said no formal talks had yet been held with Carlsberg and Heineken.

He added that there was no going back to the 50-50 arrangement with Carlsberg but that S&N would accept Carlsberg as a minority shareholder in the consortium, though he didn't think that would happen.

"I think it's highly unlikely. I'm just simply saying that we're open-minded in everything we do," he said.

"We haven't launched a takeover for Carlsberg because we're not allowed to, because they have a closed share holding and the company is controlled by the Carlsberg Foundation," Dunsmore added.

Fast-growing BBH is seen as the jewel in the crowns of both S&N and Carlsberg as it controls over 85 percent of Baltika, the biggest brewer in Russia, the world's third-largest beer market.

28 November, 2007