Carlsberg ups stake in Olivaria brewery
Belarus may be Europe’s last dictatorship, but Carlsberg obviously believes that the country of 10 million people with an average beer consumption of 49 litres is a promising and important market.
Politically speaking, it was bad timing that on 17 January Danish brewer Carlsberg paid USD 17.7 million (EUR 13 million) to raise its stake in Olivaria Brewery from a minority to 67.8 percent to gain a stronger foothold in a growing market. That was just a few days before European Union foreign ministers on 31 January 2011 imposed an asset freeze and visa ban on Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko and other top officials in response to a crackdown on the opposition after December’s election.
In summer 2010, BBH, a Carlsberg unit, raised its holdings in Olivaria to 47 percent from 30 percent.
Olivaria has a reported capacity of 700,000 hl and employs 475 people. It is the third largest brewer in the Belarus beer market with a market share of 18 percent according to Carlsberg.
State-owned Krynitsa (38 percent market share) is the largest brewery and Heineken (24 percent) is number two. Olivaria is number three, but if you include Baltika’s sales (exported from Russia) Carlsberg thinks it dominates the market.
Russia’s Baltika brewery is owned by Carlsberg.
The second major shareholder in Olivaria Brewery is the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, and the remaining shares are owned by individuals, Carlsberg said.
