Soft drink companies Britvic and AG Barr have announced that the deadline for their merger negotiations, which were to end on 3 October, has been extended to October 31.

The two companies began talks in September this year, when AB Barr approached Britvic with the merger proposal.

AG Barr has been in soft drinks business since 1875 in Scotland, with IRN-BRU, Rubicon and Strathmore water being a few of its popular brands. It had a turnover of £130m for the half year ended July 2012.

Britvic has its presence in the UK, Ireland and France. It sells under brands such as Robinsons, J2O, Fruit Shoot, Tango and Drench in the UK, MiWadi, Club and Ballygowan in Ireland, and Teisseire, Fruité and Pressade in France.

The merger is expected to create one of the biggest soft drinks companies in Europe, with 63% share to Britivic and 37% to AG Barr.

During the initial negotiations, it was decided that the AG Barr CEO Roger White would be the CEO of the combined group and Britvic chairman Gerald Corbett would become the chairman of the board of the combined group.