Britvic rethinks AG Barr takeover

Britvic and AG Barr have received approval from the Competition Commission to combine their market shares

08:57 11 July 2013

Merger plans between Britvic and AG Barr were first made public in September 2012. Both companies dubbed the deal as “compelling industrial logic.”

However, reportedly Britvic goes cold over the merger.

Britvic appears to be looking in the opposite direction when it said that the prospects as a stand-along company were bright.

AG Barr, on the other hand, still believes that merger represents a unique opportunity for shareholders. In a statement, it said it will "actively reconsider a potential merger with Britvic".

Meanwhile, Britvic's chairman Gerald Corbett said: "We would obviously consider any proposal tabled in the interests of shareholders.

"However, Britvic is in a very different position to last summer when the merger was agreed. We have a new chief executive in Simon Litherland, who has done a fantastic job in implementing his new plan for Britvic."

He added: "The merger benefits are materially less than they were and our share price is almost twice the level it was. Britvic's prospects as a stand-alone company are bright."