The news comes as the troubled Scottish firm was put up for sale earlier this month after a period of significant financial difficulties.
London-based financial consultants AlixPartners have been called in by the Brewdog board to manage the sale process, which could see the firm broken up.
Founded by James Watt and Martin Dickie in 2007, the brewer has grown to become one of the best-selling beer brands in the UK – and claims to be the biggest craft beer brand in Europe.
According to sources cited by Sky News, Royal Unibrew is said to be primarily interested in Brewdog’s portfolio of brands – as opposed to its UK-wide chain of bars and pubs.
Royal Unibrew is the second biggest brewer in Denmark after Carlsberg, and currently operates in France, Italy, the Netherlands, Finland, Norway, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Canada, as well as its own domestic market – where it boasts a 25% share.
Based in a Faxe, around 50 miles from Copenhagen, the group is also responsible for producing and marketing the Heineken and Pepsi brands in Denmark.
“In my opinion, the latest speculation that Royal Unibrew is showing an interest in some or all of the Brewdog assets is a clear reflection on some of the success that the brand has had, namely its ability to disrupt the drinks aisle across the major grocery chains and offer consumers more choice through innovation,” consultant Mark Field told Food Manufacture.
“Acquiring the brand into a global drinks business would bring the benefits of new sales channels and operational efficiencies to take the product portfolio to the next level - and ownership challenges aside could actually be the long term making of the Brewdog brand.”
As reported earlier this week, former CEO and co-founder James Watt has pledged £10 million of his personal money towards any potential rescue bids.
Watt is now said to be working to secure financial backing from a series of external investors, with a view to purchasing the group and to stop it being potentially broken up.
