British brewer Scottish & Newcastle (S&N) has agreed to be bought by its rivals Heineken and Carlsberg.

The Dutch and Danish brewers have offered 800 pence per share, equivalent to €10.4bn. S&N rejected three previous offers for being too low.
If the takeover is successful, Heineken will be the biggest brewer in the UK and have a strong position on the European market, the company said in a statement.
‘This is an extremely important strategic step for us,’ said Heineken company chairman François van Boxmeer.
Heineken will acquire S&N’s British operations, including Strongbow cider, Fosters and John Smith’s beer, the BBC reported. It will also take over S&N’s operations in Portugal, Ireland, Finland and Belgium.
The deal still needs to be approved by the European Commission and other competition bodies.