Carlsberg to bottle PepsiCo in Nordics, Baltics after Unibrew split

Royal Unibrew A/S

21/04/2026 08:53

April 21 (Reuters) - Carlsberg CARLb.CO said on Tuesday it would expand its strategic partnership with PepsiCo PEP.O to Denmark, Finland and the Baltic states from 2029, replacing Danish rival Royal Unibrew RBREW.CO as bottler in those markets.

Carlsberg said it would become PepsiCo's bottler in Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania from January 2029.

The company has been PepsiCo's bottler in Sweden and Norway for more than 25 years and the new deal would make it the soft drinks group's bottler across the Nordics and Baltics.

Royal Unibrew said earlier on Tuesday its northern Europe partnership with PepsiCo would end after they failed to reach an agreement, sending its shares down about 19% and putting them on track for their worst day in 17 years.

The licence covering Denmark, including German border trade, Finland and the Baltic states accounts for about 13% of Royal Unibrew's net revenue.

Carlsberg said its current bottling agreements with Coca-Cola in Denmark and Finland would run until they expire on December 31, 2028.

Shares in Carlsberg were largely unchanged, while Royal Unibrew was the worst performer on the STOXX 600 .STOXX.

 (Reporting by Jesus Calero in Gdansk, editing by Terje Solsvik)

 ((jesus.calero@thomsonreuters.com))