Interbrew announced earlier this week that it would sell Carling Brewers as part of a compromise with UK competition authorities following its takeover of former UK giant Bass Brewers.
"We cannot be ruled out as a potential buyer. We are, for example, willing to look at the possibility of selling a label so that the total market share is reduced," Margreth Skov, Carlsberg's head of information, is reported as saying in Danish daily newspaper Jyllands-Posten.
To comply with UK competition rules, a brewer can not control more than 30% of the market. Carling alone has a market share of 18%, while Carlsberg Tetley has 12%.
The UK secretary of state Patricia Hewitt ordered Interbrew to sell either Carling or Bass Brewers so that it would remain inside competition regulations.
If Carlsberg does bid for the brand, it could find itself up against strong opposition from another Danish player Heineken, which is keen to pick up Carling to sit alongside its own Heineken brand in competing against Interbrew's Stella Artois.
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