Carlsberg has said it has agreed to waive a change of control clause in its bottling arrangements with Britvic, potentially removing a hurdle from the Danish brewer's path to bid for the British company.
The move could pave the way for Carlsberg to raise its bid for British soft drinks maker Britvic, which has rejected two approaches from the Danish firm.
'This waiver will come into effect should an acquisition of Britvic by Carlsberg, which has the recommendation of Britvic's board, proceed to completion,' Carlsberg, which bottles Pepsi drinks in some markets, said.
Carlsberg is still considering its position and said in a statement there can be no certainty that any offer will be made.
Britvic in 2020 signed a 20-year franchise bottling agreement for PepsiCo drinks such as Pepsi, 7UP and Mountain Dew, in Britain.
A change in control clause is a contractual provision which gives a party to an agreement enhanced protection if the controlling shareholding of the other party is transferred.
Revised Offer
Last week, Britvic rejected a revised, unsolicited cash offer from the beer maker, stating that the proposal "significantly undervalued" the group and its prospects. This announcement caused Britvic's shares to rise sharply.
The revised offer represented a premium of more than 23% over Britvic's closing share price on Thursday, valuing the company at approximately £3.11 billion (€3.68 billion).
This was the second proposal following a previously rejected offer on June 6, which was priced at 1,200 pence per share. Britvic's board expressed confidence in the company's current and future prospects, affirming that it will consider any further proposals based on their merits.
Additional reporting by ESM
