Soft drink rivals AG Barr and Britvic have agreed the terms of a merger which creates one of Europe's largest soft drinks companies. Irn Bru maker AG Barr and Tango producer Britvic opened discussions about a merger in September. The new combined company will be called Barr Britvic Soft Drinks plc and will have annual sales of more than £1.5bn. The merger is likely to see about 500 jobs cut from combined headcount of just over 4,000 people. The takeover panel had given the companies an extended deadline of 28 November to announce their intentions. The merger ratio will leave Britvic shareholders with approximately 63% of the new company and AG Barr shareholders with 37%. In a statement, Britvic non-executive chairman Gerald Corbett said: "The (all-share) merger of AG Barr and Britvic will create a world-class soft drinks company."
