Carlsberg Breweries, the Danish beer company, announced on May 23rd that its takeover of Coca-Cola Tapperierne A/S, the Danish Coca-Cola operation, has been cleared by the Danish competition authorities. The deal completes an agreement with The Coca-Cola Company to buy the operations from Coca-Cola Nordic Beverages (CCNB), in which Carlsberg had 51 per cent and Coca-Cola had 49 per cent. CCNB will now be closed down. The agreement followed last year's merger between Carlsberg and the beverage activities of Norway`s Orkla. "The winding-up of CCNB will happen during 2002," Carlsberg said in statement. Carlsberg Breweries had also bought the activities in the Finnish sales company Coca-Cola Joumat, which will be integrated into the Carlsberg Breweries-owned Sinebrychoff brewery. Carlsberg Breweries said its Danish subsidiary Carlsberg Danmark was looking at the possibility of closer co-operation with Coca-Cola Tapperierne, which could yield synergies of 60 million to 70 million crowns or US$6.9-8.1m. Source: Reuters
