Carlsberg UK, the flagship beer brand, and Marston's, the UK's independent brewing and pub retailing business, completed the formation of a joint venture in a £273m ($334m) deal. Marston’s has a 40% stake in the joint venture, while Carlsberg owns the remaining 60%. “The creation of the joint venture is an important step forward for our UK business. The joint venture’s brand portfolio will allow us to offer a significantly stronger beer portfolio to our UK customers, and at the same time extend distribution into the Marston’s pub estate. In addition, the combined business will bring our customers wider choice, greater capacity, product innovation, and marketing and distribution efficiency benefits,” Cees’t Hart, Carlsberg CEO. On October 9, 2020, CMA approved the joint venture.