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European Business News 96-07-29
From: The European Business News Server at <http://www.ebn.co.uk/>
Page last updated July 29 8:45 CET
CONTENTS
[01] Allied Domecq expected to sell Carlsberg-Tetley stake
[02] Small UK manufacturers fall behind
[03] Japan's industrial output falls more than expected
[01] Allied Domecq expected to sell Carlsberg-Tetley stake
Allied Domecq PLC today will announce that it is in talks to sell its 50%
stake in brewer Carlsberg-Tetley PLC, possibly clearing the way for Allied,
a spirits and retailing giant, to break up.
Allied is negotiating to sell its portion of British-based Carlsberg-
Tetley to Bass PLC for about £200m ($311.5m). The agreement, which could be
completed within the next week, will cap a six-year restructuring drive at
Allied and could lead to Bass gaining control of 40% of the United Kingdom
brewing market.
As part of the negotiations, Bass also is reportedly talking to Denmark-
based Carlsberg AS, the other owner of the joint venture, about buying its
stake. In return, Carlsberg would receive a 20% stake in Bass's British
brewing unit, according to U.K. newspaper reports.
Bass didn't return telephone calls and an Allied spokesman would only say
that the company would be making an announcement this morning. The Bass
purchase has been expected for weeks, because Allied has made no secret of
its intention to focus on its core retailing and spirits businesses. Allied
owns U.S. food chains Baskin-Robbins and Dunkin' Donuts, as well as spirits
brands Beefeater gin and Courvoisier cognac.
[02] Small UK manufacturers fall behind
Output for small- and medium-sized British manufacturers rose at the
slowest rate over the past four months since a negative balance was
reported in January 1993, according to a Confederation of British Industry
(CBI) survey published Monday.
Small- and medium-sized manufacturers lagged the sector as a whole, which
saw output levels recovering since April. The smaller companies also
reported that sentiment about the last four months fell as it has in the
three previous surveys, while their larger counterparts said that business
confidence increased for the first time since April 1995.
'In the U.K., we have buoyant consumer demand, but it hasn't yet fed
downstream to the manufacturing sector,' said Neil Mellor, an economist at
the CBI.
[03] Japan's industrial output falls more than expected
Production at Japan's factories and mines, after adjustment for seasonal
factors, fell 3.9% in June from May, the Ministry of International Trade
and Industry (MITI) reported Monday. The decline, coming after industrial
output rose 2.4% in May from April, was much steeper than MITI's forecast
two weeks ago that output would drop 1.8% in June, and compared with
expectations of a 1.7% drop according to averaged forecasts from economists
surveyed by AP-Dow Jones.
From the European Business News (EBN) Server at http://www.ebn.co.uk/
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