Scot.& Newcastle - EGM Statement

RNS Number:1946R
Scottish & Newcastle PLC
31 March 2008

PRESS RELEASE
MARCH 31 2008

SHAREHOLDERS ACCEPT £10 BILLION BID FOR SCOTTISH & NEWCASTLE

Shareholders in Scottish & Newcastle have voted overwhelmingly to back the £10
billion bid for Britain's biggest brewer by a consortium of Carlsberg and
Heineken.

At an extraordinary general meeting today in Edinburgh, shareholders voted by an
overwhelming majority to accept the bid. The decision requires further court
approval with the final handover expected to take place on April 28.

The decision will result in S&N's businesses in the UK and Ireland, Finland,
Portugal, Belgium and India going to Dutch multinational Heineken; with S&N's
businesses in France, Greece, Russia, China and Vietnam going to Danish brewer
Carlsberg.

S&N chairman Sir Brian Stewart told shareholders it was a "momentous and
historic day for Scottish & Newcastle, Britain's largest brewer and one of
Scotland's oldest independent companies."

S&N was founded 259 years ago in Edinburgh and first listed on the stock market
over 120 years ago.

Sir Brian said: "While there is sadness at the passing of two and a half
centuries of brewing history, the prevalent emotion today is pride -

• Pride in our people in building such a valuable and desirable global
business
• Pride that our strong brands and the Scottish & Newcastle spirit will
continue
• Pride that the vast majority of our colleagues will have new
opportunities in the businesses in which they will play an integral part;
• Pride that we achieved a strong price for shareholders in increasingly
weak world markets.

"Let me remind you that Scottish & Newcastle today is a top six global brewer -
Scotland's largest industrial multinational - in the top half of the FTSE 100 -
a market leader in the UK, France, Russia and India - a major exporter to the
US; and the world's largest cider maker. It is precisely because we have
achieved such strong positions worldwide that the company has been so attractive
to others in a consolidating world market in brewing.

"Though today may be an end, it is also a beginning; a new opportunity for our
people across the globe - including many still based here in Scotland - to grow
within a larger worldwide group.

"The company may change, but Scottish & Newcastle lives on through its
people..."

For further information:

Scottish & Newcastle plc: +44 (0) 20 7409 2112
Richard Gibb: Head of Corporate Affairs
Robert Ballantyne: Head of Corporate Communications (media)
Joanna Speed: Head of Investor Relations (investors and analysts)

Smithfield Financial: +44 (0) 20 7903 0667
John Kiely

This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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