S&N sails into history as brewer taken over

TIME was called today on the 250-year-old UK history of Edinburgh-based brewer Scottish & Newcastle.

The firm will officially move into foreign hands after being taken over by continental rivals Heineken and Carlsberg.

Edinburgh's last remaining brewery, the Caledonian, will also come under Dutch ownership today after the Deuchars maker was bought up by S&N in a surprise move last month.

S&N, which already owned a 30 per cent stake in the firm, acquired the remaining 70 per cent shareholding from Caledonian directors Sandy Orr, Donald MacDonald and Denis Critchley-Salmonson for an undisclosed sum.

S&N, which makes Foster's, John Smith's and Kronenbourg 1664, agreed a takeover by the consortium in March after Heineken and Carlsberg made their fourth offer.

The company's four senior managers, led by chief executive John Dunsmore, will stay on for three months as consultants to help shepherd in the new era.

The takeover will herald the break-up of a group which can trace its roots as far back as 1749.

Heineken will take on the UK operation, which employs around 3,000 staff UK-wide.

The Dutch giant will also gain S&N's businesses in Portugal, Ireland, Finland and Belgium. Meanwhile Carlsberg will take on S&N's stake in BBH, their fast-growing 50/50 joint venture in Russia and the Baltics, and the firm's operations in France, Greece, China and Vietnam. S&N, which will also drop out of the FTSE-100 list today, was formed by the merger of Scottish Brewers and Newcastle Breweries in 1960.

The company yesterday put out a statement to the Stock Exchange in London confirming the takeover and saying that its shares would be delisted from the market at 8am today.