Scottish & Newcastle Seeks Partner to Buyout Stake in BBH

Scottish & Newcastle have announced that they are examining the possibility of a strategic alliance with international breweries to buyout Carlsberg’s stake in Baltic Beverages Holding (BBH holds 92% of Slavutych (SLAV: BUY), the third largest domestic brewer, and 99.6% of Lvivska pyvovarnya, the fifth largest brewery in the country). The announcement follows Scottish & Newcastle’s rejection last week of Carlsberg and Heineken’s offer to buy its 50% stake in BBH for USD 13.9 bln. According to the Financial Times, the most probable partners for S&N are SABMiller and Anheuser-Busch. Both of these companies have been rumored to be interested in acquiring Ukrainian brewer Sarmat. As for Slavutych, if S&N is successful in buying out BBH, it might result in a change in the product’s brand basket, though in general, its strategy of increasing its market share will be preserved.