Brewers Marston’s and Carlsberg UK to join to form £780m beer giant

British brewer Marston’s has announced plans to join with Carlsberg’s UK arm to form a joint venture worth around £780 million.

The move, which is the latest in a string of deals involving UK brewers, will create the Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company.

It has valued Marston’s brewing business at £580 million, with Carlsberg’s UK brewing division valued at £200 million.

Marston’s said it will own a 40% in the joint venture and will now focus on its pub and accommodation business.

The companies said talks over the move started towards the end of 2019 and hope to seal the deal in the third quarter of 2020.

Ralph Findlay, chief executive of Marston’s, said: “I am delighted to announce today’s joint venture with Carlsberg UK.

“This new partnership acknowledges Marston’s strategy, position and consistent outperformance against the UK beer market, realising value for shareholders today, whilst retaining an interest in the future upside of the combined entity.

“Marston’s strong heritage, extensive distribution platform and established reputation for brewing and logistics excellence, together with Carlsberg UK’s values, long history in beer, brand portfolio and scale, combine the best attributes of both to create a compelling beer business with an outstanding portfolio of global and local beer brands, proven brewing expertise, strong distribution network and wholesale opportunity.”

Tomasz Blawat, managing director of Carlsberg UK, said: “We are excited to move into the next phase of our growth strategy.

“Our intent for the Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company is for it to become a platform for growth for all of our customers and suppliers, offering a bigger beer portfolio of complementary international, national and regional brands.

“We believe the new business will deliver even more value for employees, customers and consumers, thereby creating greater future growth potential.”