According to Scotland on Sunday, the Chairman of Scottish and Newcastle, having agreed to the joint Carlsberg / Heineken bid for S&N, puts the likelihood of a counter bid for his company at around 50:50. Having forced Carlsberg into full disclosure of the likely profits from Baltic Beverage Holdings, SoS speculates that the chance for Anheuser-Busch to gain a large foothold in markets where it is very weak such as Eastern Europe and the Far East, may yet see them making a counter bid. SAB Miller and InBev are also possible bidders, but much less likely.
It seems that the Carlsberg / Heineken consortium are at the limit of what they can spend. Will the US giant come crashing through the door and bring the party to a halt? They have about two weeks to make up their mind, but they know this is a "one-off" opportunity. Don't be surprised if they do. As I said before, this saga has yet to play out fully.
It's never over 'til the fat lady sings as they say.
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