Brandtree

Acquisition closed

Heineken and Carlsberg acquire Strongbow and Kronenbourg 1664 (2008)

Heineken and Carlsberg completed the acquisition of Strongbow and Kronenbourg 1664 on 28 April 2008 for £7.8 billion.[1]

Heineken and Carlsberg bid jointly for Scottish & Newcastle at about GBP 7.8 billion and split it between them rather than one buying the whole company. Heineken took the British and Irish business including Strongbow, Carlsberg took the French and Russian operations including Kronenbourg. A joint bid to divide a target is unusual, and it is why two competing brewers date their ownership of these brands to the same day.

Deal facts

Announced
Closed
Value
£7.8 billion (enterprise value)
Buyer
Heineken, Carlsberg
Seller
Assets
Strongbow, Kronenbourg 1664
Regulatory review
None recorded

Ownership changes recorded from this deal

OwnerOwnedRelationshipStakeFromTo
CarlsbergKronenbourg 1664owns100%2008-04-28present
HeinekenStrongbowowns100%2008-04-28present

Who owns these brands today?

Sources (1) & corrections

Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.

  1. [1] Heineken N.V. Annual Report 2008 - acquisition of Scottish & Newcastle — Heineken N.V., Annual report, published 28 April 2008; retrieved 8 September 2026.

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