Scottish and Newcastle shareholders vote on £7.8bn takeover

Shareholders of brewer Scottish and Newcastle will meet today to vote on a proposed £7.8bn (€9.8bn) takeover of the company.

The shareholders will gather in Edinburgh to call time on more than 250 years of history for the UK’s biggest brewer.

Investors are expected to approve the £7.8bn (€7.8bn) takeover by European giants Heineken and Carlsberg, which will herald a break up of the business.

S&N’s board finally agreed to the duo’s fourth offer for the company in January following a three-month pursuit.

After today’s meeting, the deal should be given court approval in late April before a likely completion on April 28.

The company’s UK operation will pass to Dutch giant Heineken.

It has breweries in Manchester, Reading, Dunston near Newcastle, and Tadcaster, in North Yorkshire, as well as owning the Bulmers cider mill in Hereford.

In February, the company announced plans to close its Reading brewery by 2010 under cost-cutting plans, leaving S&N with around 3,000 UK staff.

Heineken will also gain S&N’s businesses in Portugal, Ireland, Finland and Belgium.

Danish brewer Carlsberg will take on S&N’s stake in BBH, their fast-growing 50/50 joint venture in Russia and the Baltics, and the firm’s operations in France, Greece, China and Vietnam.

Recent annual results for the firm – its last as an independent group – showed flat profits of £444 million during 2007.

An 8% fall in UK profits after the wet summer and the impact of the smoking ban was offset by a stronger performance from higher growth markets in Russia and India.