Britvic, the UK soft drinks maker, has rejected a £3.1bn takeover proposal by Carlsberg Group, the Danish brewer, which it said undervalued the company.
Britvic shares jumped 10% on Friday morning after the drinks company, whose brands include J20 and Robinsons, said Carlsberg had made two takeover proposals this month, with the last cash offer at £12.50 a share. Shares were trading at £11.20 on Friday.
The FTSE 250 company said its board had rejected the proposal made on 11 June as well as an earlier approach of £12 a share received on 6 June after concluding that it undervalued Britvic.
Under takeover rules, Carlsberg must indicate its intention to make a formal offer for Britvic by 19 July or walk away.
Britvic has an exclusive licence with PepsiCo in Great Britain and Ireland to make and sell Pepsi Max, 7UP, Rockstar Energy and Lipton Ice Tea.
The company was founded in the UK in the 1930s as the British Vitamin Products Company and used soft drinks as an affordable way of supplying vitamins to consumers. It now has 39 brands in 100 countries including Brazil, France and Ireland.
The company reported strong revenue growth in May underpinned by demand from its products from international markets including Brazil.
It announced a £75m share buyback programme and said revenue for the six months ended 31 March rose by 11% to £880m – up from £794m in the same period a year earlier and interim pre-tax profits rose by 10% to £60m.
Britvic is also well known for its Robinsons brand, which had a sponsorship partnership with the Wimbledon tennis tournament that ended in 2022 after 86 years. Robinsons had been an independent company until it was acquired by Britvic in 1995.
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Robinsons’ association with Wimbledon dated to 1935, when a drink containing barley, lemon juice and sugar was made for the tennis players at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in a year when the British player Fred Perry won the gentlemen’s singles title.
The barley water drink was created by Eric Smedley Hodgson and handed out to players and umpires during a visit to Wimbledon. It was so popular that he was invited back every year.