S&N Enters Discussions with Carlsberg and Heineken 

18/01/08 Scottish & Newcastle looks to be acquired by Heineken and Carlsberg after the brewers raised their offer for the British owner of John Smith’s bitter to £7.8 billion. S&N agreed to open its books after the pair increased their bid for the third time to 800p a share, ending a three-month takeover stand-off.

Scottish & Newcastle plc and Carlsberg A/S and Heineken N.V. confirmed that they have entered into discussions in relation to a possible recommended offer for S&N at 800 pence per share. The Consortium's proposal is subject to certain pre-conditions, including satisfactory completion of limited due diligence. The parties have approached the Panel to request a short extension to the Put up or Shut up deadline to 12 noon on 24 January 2008, to enable the Consortium to complete its due diligence.

The potential additional 20 pence per share of the proposed increased offer price will be funded by Carlsberg.

The Consortium pointed out to shareholders that there can be no certainty that a formal offer will be made.  A further announcement will be made as appropriate.

Heineken and Carlsberg first approached S&N, which also owns the Newcastle Brown Ale, Kronenbourg and Strongbow brands, in October with an offer of 720p, but were immediately rejected. They raised their offer to 750p the following month and then again to 780p last week. At the centre of the battle is Baltic Beverages Holding, the fast-growing Russian and Baltic brewer that S&N jointly controls with Carlsberg on a 50-50 basis. S&N had argued that Carlsberg was trying to buy BBH on the cheap and had begun legal proceedings, alleging that the pair’s joint offer for the group was in violation of their joint shareholder pact.