Soft drink group Britvic will want to renegotiate a merger with rival AG Barr if as expected competition authorities give the deal the green light later this month.
An agreement between Britvic, maker of Robinsons and Tango, and AG Barr, the manufacturer of Irn Bru, was referred to the Competition Commission last year.
A final ruling approving a deal is expected in the next two weeks. But Britvic chief executive Simon Litherland made it clear to The Mail on Sunday that the merger was unlikely to go ahead on the same terms as before.
“We are now in a different place with strong half-year profit figures and a new strategy to strengthen the business,” Litherland said.
While stressing that the Britvic board will await the Commission’s final verdict before taking any merger-related decisions, he said the options were likely to be either re-negotiated or abandoning the idea. “The board will act in the best interests of our shareholders.”