Carlsberg Group (“Carlsberg”) has announced the completion of its acquisition of Irish soft drinks maker Britvic Ireland, following its purchase of parent company Britvic PLC.
Carlsberg will retain Britvic Ireland as a standalone soft drinks business, with Managing Director Kevin Donnelly remaining at the helm and no roles impacted in the company’s Irish operations. Britvic Ireland will continue to produce and sell its portfolio of soft drinks, including Ballygowan, MiWadi, Club, Cidona and TK, while Diageo will continue to sell Carlsberg alcoholic brands in Ireland.
Britvic Ireland has been manufacturing iconic soft drinks at Kylemore Road in Ballyfermot for the past 50 years and has been bottling Ballygowan at Newcastle West in Limerick for 35 years. The company remains the only large-scale soft drinks manufacturer in the Republic of Ireland, employing over 400 people. Today’s deal establishes Britvic Ireland as the only standalone soft drink company in Carlsberg’s Western Europe operations.
Søren Brinck, Carlsberg Group EVP Western Europe, said;
“Today marks a pivotal milestone in the history of the Carlsberg Group as we welcome the acquisition of Britvic Ireland. Carlsberg Group has extensive and successful experience with soft drinks in various markets, and Britvic Ireland has an exciting portfolio of brands and products that are beloved in the Irish market. With the acquisition, Carlsberg also further strengthens its existing relationship with PepsiCo and will now become their largest bottling partner in Europe.
This deal brings together two businesses with strong values, growth ambitions, and a determination to positively contribute to communities, industry, and the planet. We believe that our combined strengths will help us succeed as we plan for a better tomorrow together.”
Kevin Donnelly, Managing Director of Britvic Ireland, said;
“At Britvic Ireland we are very grateful for 16 wonderful years as part of Britvic PLC. We are excited to join the Carlsberg Group, a larger and more global business. We look forward to accessing increased investment and capability to continue our growth journey and are confident that this acquisition will bring about exciting opportunities for the development of our brands, teams and operations.”
