Termination of discussions with A.G. BARR p.l.c

RNS Number : 1546J

Britvic plc

11 July 2013

 



NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION (IN WHOLE OR IN PART) IN, INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OF SUCH JURISDICTION.

For Immediate Release

11 July 2013

Britvic plc

Termination of discussions with A.G. BARR p.l.c ("AG Barr")

The Board of Britvic and its advisors have had a number of discussions with AG Barr and its representatives concerning a possible merger, following the Competition Commission's clearance received on Tuesday, 9 July 2013.  Britvic received a new proposal from AG Barr for a merger with a ratio of 65% Britvic 35% A G Barr, which represented only a small improvement on the previous terms as announced on 14 November 2012 and was at a considerable discount to the current market capitalisation ratios of the two companies.  The Board of Britvic therefore rejected the proposal and has agreed with AG Barr to terminate discussions.

Britvic's Chairman Gerald Corbett said "Under Simon Litherland's leadership, our performance has significantly improved and this, combined with the £30 million cost reduction plan and accelerating international expansion, means that our future is bright.  The execution and delivery of this is now the absolute priority of the Britvic team. We wish Barr and its management team well. They are good people with a fine business."

In accordance with Rule 2.8 of the Takeover Code, AG Barr has today issued a statement confirming that it does not intend to make an offer for Britvic.

As required by Note 3 of Rule 2.5 of the Takeover Code, Britvic confirms that this announcement is being made without the prior agreement or approval of A.G. Barr.

Enquiries

Britvic plc

Gerald Corbett                                                                                                                        [phone]

Simon Litherland

John Gibney

Rupen Shah                                                                                                              

Steve Nightingale

Citigroup Global Markets Limited (joint financial adviser and joint broker to Britvic)

David Wormsley                                                                                                     [phone]

Jan Skarbek

Andrew Seaton

Nomura International plc (joint financial adviser and joint broker to Britvic)

Ed Matthews                                                                                                            [phone]

Nicholas Marren

Brunswick (PR adviser to Britvic)

Mike Smith                                                                                                                [phone]

Nick Cosgrove

Important Information

Citigroup Global Markets Limited, which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the FCA, is acting exclusively for Britvic and for no-one else in connection with the possible merger and will not be responsible to anyone other than Britvic for providing the protections afforded to its clients or for providing advice in connection with the matters set out in this announcement.

Nomura International plc, which conducts its UK investment banking business as Nomura, is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the FCA and is acting as joint broker and joint financial adviser to Britvic and for no-one else in connection with the possible merger. Nomura will not be responsible to anyone other than Britvic for providing the protection afforded to its clients or for providing advice in connection with the matters set out in this announcement.

This announcement is for information purposes only and is not intended to and does not constitute, or form part of, an offer, invitation or the solicitation of an offer to purchase, otherwise acquire, subscribe for, sell or otherwise dispose of any securities, or the solicitation of any vote or approval in any jurisdiction.

A copy of this announcement will be made available, free of charge, subject to certain restrictions relating to persons resident in restricted jurisdictions, on Britvic's website at http://ir.britvic.comby no later than noon (London time) on the day following the date of this announcement. For the avoidance of doubt, the contents of those websites are not incorporated into and do not form part of this announcement.

You may request a hard copy of this announcement by contacting the Company Secretary of Britvic at [e-mail] (or on [phone]) or by writing to Britvic plc, Breakspear Park, Breakspear Way, Hemel Hempstead, HP2 4TZ. You may also request that all future documents, announcements and information to be sent to you in relation to the possible merger should be in hard copy form.

 

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