UFO Info Week-End

As a result of taking upfront the cost of that contract which expires at

As a result of taking upfront the cost of that contract, which expires at the end of 1997, the deal is expected to be earnings enhancing for Allied from the 1996/97 financial year, which begins next week.As expected, the deal sees Bass acquiring Allied’s share in Carlsberg- Tetley for pounds 200m in cash. In addition, Carlsberg will inject its half of the venture into Bass’s brewing arm, Bass Brewers, and pay a further pounds 20m in exchange for a 20 per cent stake in all of the combined operations except Bass’s Irish and export businesses.Together with Whitbread, which has 14 per cent of the market, Britain’s three biggest brewers will now account for four out of every five pints brewed in Britain. Brewers continue to face a whole range of competitive pressures on wholesale volumes, prices and margins, and it is these pressures that are forcing consolidation.”He said Bass had already had discussions with the OFT on the proposed transaction. “Now it is in the public domain, we will address any specific concerns the regulatory authorities may have surrounding the transaction.”Tony Hales, chief executive of Allied Domecq, described the deal as “the culmination of a two-year disposal programme of non-core businesses which will enable us to concentrate fully on the development of our spirits and retailing businesses”.Allied will take a pounds 320m charge against profits to cover the full cost of exiting brewing, including the ongoing price of buying beer from Carlsberg- Tetley at well above the current market price. A second case concerned Alexander Baric, a resident of Sanski Most known as “the Chetnik” [Serbian fighter] who was beaten by the local Muslim police. The IPTF had requested access to the prisoner, who was allegedly beaten for five days, but refused. It was alleged the Muslim police tried to make him confess to war crimes, which he denied.There appears to have been a systematic campaign against opponents of the SDA.

One Abdic supporter was allegedly beaten in Bihac police custody, and a hand grenade thrown at his house while he was being held.Last Saturday in nearby Velika Kladusa the IPTF received a complaint from an Abdic supporter who said she and four others had been detained and told they should “not be so open in their affiliation to Mr Abdic, or they could face some consequences”.In spite of international concern the elections are unlikely to be called off. The OSCE ambassador in Sarajevo has said they would only be stopped in the case of a “major outbreak of violence”.Eight beatings and 11 bombings do not meet that criterion. A senior diplomatic source told The Independent yesterday: “You had a choice. Either this route – elections – or create a sort of international protectorate and have elections in, say, five years’ time They chose this route”.. Months of increasingly well-informed speculation finally ended yesterday as Bass announced a pounds 200m deal to acquire Carlsberg-Tetley, the struggling brewing joint venture between Allied Domecq and Carlsberg.

If it gains regulatory approval, the deal will see Bass regain its title as Britain’s biggest brewer and mark the final exit of Allied from the industry. The unconditional deal must now wait for the green light from the Office of Fair Trading, which has to decide whether to refer the acquisition to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission in light of the 35 per cent share of the UK brewing market it will secure for Bass. Last year, Scottish & Newcastle was given the nod, in exchange for a handful of minor concessions, for its takeover of Courage, which gave it a 31 per cent market share.
Sir Ian Prosser, chairman of Bass, who has maintained a no-comment policy throughout the 15-month-long negotiations with Allied and Carlsberg, said yesterday: “I am delighted we have been able to agree this merger. “I call on those responsible for creating a positive campaign atmosphere to think about the image that this canton [one of 10 in the Muslim-Croat half of Bosnia] is projecting, if there are abuses of human rights and harassment of opposition politicians,” he said. Although there were problems in Republika Srpska, they were not as bad as in Bihac, Mr Karsten said.The IPTF reported disturbing incidents on both sides.

They began with the death of a 55-year-old Muslim, Hasan Kovacevic, in Serb police custody on 1 August after suffering 16 broken ribs and with a litre of blood on his lungs. Another incident involved campaign material belonging to Zdruzena Lista BiH, the opposition coalition, which was confiscated by the police in Bihac and partly destroyed. The confiscation took place because the material was “against the interests of the ruling party”.That is no way to run an election, Mr Karsten told journalists from the Muslim-Croat federation and the Republika Srpska, whom the Nato peace forces had brought down from Banja Luka into Muslim territory by helicopter. It was the only area where Muslims fought Muslims, when a rebel Muslim army under Fikret Abdic battled against Muslims loyal to the Sarajevo government, with help from the Serbs. The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which is supervising the Bosnian elections, and the IPTF have highlighted incidents in Serb-controlled territory. But they place most stress on the authorities in Bihac.Yesterday, Abdic posters were plentiful.

Although Mr Abdic faces war- crimes charges in Bosnia, he has not been indicted by the international criminal tribunal in The Hague and is eligible to stand for election under the Dayton peace agreement rules. Karsten Geter, deputy director of OSCE in Bihac, said that with three weeks to go to the elections he was very pleased with the number of people who had registered to vote but was “less happy with the political atmosphere that is developing”.”There have been a number of incidents, especially in Cazin recently, in which representatives of basically all opposition parties have been targeted,” he said. The acts pose a serious threat to the elections planned for 14 September.An official of the UN’s international police (IPTF), which monitors the Bosnian police, reported that the “level of intimidation” in Cazin, 12 miles north of Bihac, “was at such a level that because of it they [the electorate] may well not go to vote on election day”.Bihac has a strange history. “That’s the ultimate normality indicator,” joked one British army officer from the British-led division responsible for this sector. A police lorry for towing away illegally parked cars trundled down the main street. If Mother Teresa can help them survive, why can’t our prayers help her survive?”. Bihac – The appearance of tranquil normality has returned, only nine months after the end of a three-year siege during which the Muslim enclave was cut off by the Bosnian Serbs on one side and Serbs in the Krajina area of Croatia on the other.