Carlsberg's Move to Bottle More Pepsi is Smart, but not a Game Changer

1012 GMT - Carlsberg's deal to buy PepsiCo bottlers in Georgia and Armenia cements its relationship with the soft-drinks group but doesn't add a whole lot to the investment thesis, Jefferies's Edward Mundy writes in a note to clients. The Danish brewer is to acquire PepsiCo bottlers in the two Caucasus countries from investment firm Revery, adding to a recent deal to become PepsiCo's bottler in neighboring Azerbaijan. The move "further cements Carlsberg as PepsiCo's anchor bottler of choice, and the multi-beverage logic is sound," Mundy says. Still, the acquisitions are small bolt-ons that sit outside the key realm of organic growth for Carlsberg, he notes. The move as such is "strategically neat, not thesis changing," Mundy says. Jefferies has a hold rating and a 950-kroner target on the stock; shares are largely flat Tuesday at 856.60 kroner.