As S&N have now sold off their pub estate, theres a great chance that they will become a takeover bid.
This share could rise substantially soon.
What does everyone else think?

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Scottish & Newcastle PLC's 50 pct stake in Baltic Beverages Holding is not for sale, industry sources have said.

Sources told Thomson Financial News they could not 'conceive of the possibility' of the stake in the joint venture with Carlsberg becoming available.

Danish daily Berlingske Tidende today reported Carlsberg chairman Povl Krogsgaard-Larsen as being prepared to buy S&N out of the Russian and Baltic States-focused brewer for 30-40 bln dkr -- up to 3.64 bln stg.

'We are ready,' Krogsgaard-Larsen said. 'We can clearly see advantages in getting 100 pct ownership of BBH. We've built up a capital reserve so we can react the day it becomes possible [to buy S&N's share of BBH].'

A spokesman for S&N responded: 'We are very happy with the relationship with Carlsberg and the joint ownership of BBH and that is and will remain the position.'

Speculation of a merger or a takeover of S&N by Carlsberg resurfaced again this week after Carlsberg announced the appointment of Joergen Buhl Rasmussen as chief executive following the departure of Nils Smedegaard Andersen who steps down on October 1.

Rasmussen, who has been Carlsberg's representative to BBH and has close links with S&N, told a news conference on his appointment: 'I see no need to make large changes. My appointment has nothing to do with a potential purchase of S&N.'

Guscavalier comment: It is no secret that Carlsberg would like to own 100% OF BBH. However, it will have to make a full bid or merge with sctn to do so. This is likely so as to keep other predators as bay. I would not be surprised to see others enter the fray once Carlsberg makes a move. sp620p

well in told everyone here to buy S&N..........ok, its been a medium hold for me but it was a solid share to have in turbulent times..........almost doubled my money in 4.5 years, quite good i think

hooray! glad to see you have a proper stock in your portfolio ..... as you say, t/o has been on the cards an awful long time but now should come to fruition

been very rewarding especially when dividend payments are included. Will continue to hold for now.

talk of SCTN only accepting anything with minimum of 8???

Thus 8 min. nice!!
Into CGT area again!!!

with sp currently 761/762 it is worth considering whether or not this makes a sensible buy for non-holders ....... there is a chance that Annheuser will come thundering into the fray with a fatter offer, though there is also a chance that S+N will boot all offers into touch

Very interesting move for Sctn to be considering making its own offer for the remainder of BBH . It may do this by a combination of a rights issue and debt with the possibility of selling a minority interest in the future. With BBH regarded to have good growth potential, shareholders may well support this idea. Besides with this possibility it will probably help maximise a further offer for Sctn by Carlsburg/Heineken or any other that may decide to enter the fray. I expect the sp to advance a good deal north of 800p with it currently at 770p.

MoneyAM
Scottish & Newcastle said today it has entered into discussions with Carlsberg and Heineken.

The talks revolve around a possible recommended offer for S&N at 800p per share.

The parties said the consortium's proposal is subject to certain pre-conditions, including satisfactory completion of limited due diligence.

In a separate statement the Takeover Panel said it had agreed with the parties request that the 'Put up or Shut up' deadline be extended to 12 noon on 24th January 2008, to enable the consortium to complete its due diligence.

It added that no extension to the revised deadline will be granted without the the consent of the Panel Executive.

The companies said shareholders should be aware that there can be no certainty that a formal offer will be made and added a further announcement will be made as appropriate.

The potential bid offer increase of 20p per share will be funded by Carlsberg, the companies added. sp766p

yip, look like 800p

Talk of other groups may be ready to gatecrash namely Anheuser-Busch with In Bev as a consortium and Japanese brewer Asahi (I suppose the strong yen is working in their favour in this respect) .See business.scotsman.com

Fingers crossed for formal bid at 800p tomorrow Friday 25th following a 24 hour extention given to Carlsberg consortium by T/O panel. Looks like only a question of 'crossing the ts'. However, it may not be the end of the story as mentioned in previous post. sp 761p.

As suspected, SABMiller is rumoured to be lining up a counter bid for Sctn at 850p valuing Company at 8.3 billion pounds. sp 808p up 20p today. Some analysts are sceptical but, the Sctn board have left the door open to higher offers nowithstanding the fact the Carlsberg bid was agreed by them. BBH is the attraction as th Russian beer market grew about 20% last year, I believe. With the shares underpinned at 800p, seems little to lose to see if further developments occur.

sab miller pulled out last night could of had a bidding war bring it on tyey may come back in

read somewhere at weekend that another group where working on making a late counter bid. It was just a brief mention. Can not find where I read it. sp firmer this morning at 790p

its anchuser busch...american company....someone bought almost 2 million shares at 806p

Thanks for that scotinvestor. I see the offer documents arrived today. From page 14 it looks like an inducement fee of nearly 77,000,000 becomes payable if another party successfully enters the fray.

Following approvals at Court Meeting and EGM, proceeds of sale and any floating rate note certs should be due around 12th May.