Beer in the sticks

When at the end of June SABMiller announced that it had acquired a 29.6% stake in Harbin brewery group from its largest shareholder, China Enterprise Development Fund for USD87 million in cash, others must have been gnashing their teeth. SABMiller has pai

Kent brewery to close

Carlton and United Breweries (CUB), the Australian beer, leisure and spirits division of Foster’s Group announced that it expects to realise annual gross efficiency gains of up to AUD100 million within the next five years through the closure of the Kent B

More cash

At first it was only a rumour no one bothered to comment upon. Next it was denied outright. But on 12 August the Foster’s Group confirmed its plans to spin-off its Australian Leisure and Hospitality (ALH) division, comprising the group’s 131 hotel (i.e. p

Test the West. Are Russians the better capitalists? Faster than the Americans, the Russians will consolidate their beer market

They came, saw and conquered. And on a broad front too. Now Russian brewers are racing to snap up the best deals from under each others noses. At one time it would have been called redistribution, nowadays it’s consolidation.

Nineteen sixty-eight was a fateful year. In the USA both human rights activist Martin Luther King and Secretary of State for Justice Robert Kennedy were shot. Civil war broke out in Biafra. The Czech uprising in Prague rocked the Soviet regime but did not bring it down. In Europe and the USA students fought with the police. Long-haired types chanted "Ho Ho Ho Chi Minh". Decent folk quaked in fear of the Reds.) mind/."

The Beatles no longer exist, nor does the USSR. Hard to believe, but "Back in the USSR" is a party favourite, 35 years on.

Efes plans London IPO

Turkey’s major brewer Anadolu Efes plans an initial public offering (IPO) of its Efes Breweries International division (EBI) in London during the first half of 2004. That’s what Efes Beverage Group President Mukhtar Kent told delegates at the Renaissance Capital Equity Conference in Moscow at the beginning of June 2003. Kent was quoted as saying that the growth of the Efes Beverage Group’s (EBG) operations outside Turkey required an IPO for EBI (Efes’ international beer sales arm, in which EBG holds an 85% stake). EBI is likely to be listed in the first quarter of next year and up to 30% of its shares are expected to be in free float.
Efes expects the Turkish beer market, with 11 litres of beer per capita consumption, to grow at an average rate of 5 - 6% over the next five years.e..

Carlsberg to up its stake

Carlsberg Breweries A/S reported that it has started negotiations with Yasar Holding A.S to acquire the Yasar Group’s 12.1% stake in the brewer Türk Tuborg. When going to press, it seemed that the parties had come to a quick decision, leaving Carlsberg Breweries with 95.3% of the company. Any agreement is subject to approval by Turkish authorities. Carlsberg Breweries became the majority shareholder in July 2001 by acquiring 50.01% of the share capital and has since then increased its ownership share to 83.2% by means of increases in the share capital and public offers.

The rush is on

By all appearances, the Central Asian market of Kazakhstan is where the action is these days. Not only the world’s oil bosses are falling over themselves to secure a piece of the Caspian actions, the world’s beer bosses too have staked their claims: The Turkish Efes Group has been in the country longest since 1996, operating the Karaganda brewery located 200 km to the south of the capital Astana.
This year Efes will open a USD16 million brewery near Almaty with an output volume of 500,000 hl. Its competitor Heineken has been in the country since 1999 and only last year raised its stake in the Dinal brewery in Almaty. Baltic Beverages Holding (BBH) is continuing its expansion in Kazakhstan by acquiring its second brewery in the country in May 2003.8% in 2002 alone..

Wanted: designated drivers

Seems like they have not heard of the US custom of choosing a designated driver. He - it’s usually a he - has to stick to mineral water all evening while his pals do some in-depth research on beer quality.
The purpose of this sort of job-sharing? One has to remain sober so that he can drive the others home afterwards. When in Japan the powers-that-be raised the penalty for drink & drive offences to EUR2,200 last year, they did not just aim at those intoxicated behind the wheel but all passengers in the same vehicle. Takashi Inoue reports from Japan that the authorities cashed in more than EUR70,000 a drop when they stopped a bus of merry men on their way back from the golf course.
But this is not to say that Japanese consumers are to forego drinking beer. Far from it.e.5%.

Tall poppy syndrome

So it is plain envy, the resentment of achievement and success, that takeover stories of troubled wine giant Southcorp appear in the press with frequency?
The Australians have a name for this sort of jealousy: "tall poppy syndrome". Stick out your head above the crowds and you get biffed.
Southcorp’ executives who put the blame for all their woes on mean instincts delude themselves or paint a false picture of Southcorp’s situation.
Actually, the latter they seem to have done for some time. In February 2003, Australia’s corporate regulator alleged that the country’s biggest winemaker knew as early as April 2002 that the poor harvest in 2000 would affect profits in 2002
and 2003 but failed to fully inform its shareholders..

Elephant-size: Beer Thai Third brewery in Kamphaeng Phet up and running since May 2002

It’s an almost unbelievable story. A saga without precedent in the international brewing community. We’re talking about the spectacular rise of Beer Thai to become the leading player on Thailand’s beer market. Last year, the one-time newcomer had already inaugurated its third brewery, bigger and better than its two predecessors. With the capacity installed at its three facilities, Beer Thai could easily serve the entire market.

But the investment has been made with an eye to the future, and has allowed for further overproportional growth on the domestic market and a vigorous export campaign. Ltd., to produce beer and mineral water. In 1992, Thailand’s beer world was still totally unclouded - at least as far as the current market players were concerned.
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