Heineken acquires two Volga breweries

Heineken may have been a late-comer to the Russian market, but this does not mean that all’s been settled and done. In such a vast market, even mid-tier brewers hold some appeal and it is among those brewers that Heineken has sought its growth opportunities. Heineken N.V. announced that it plans to take over 100 percent of the Russian group Central European Brewing Company (CEBCO), the major shareholder of which was the Russian dairy to fruit juice group, Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods.
CEBCO was set up in 2001 by Wimm-Bill-Dann with the aim of turning it into a strong player in the national beer market.
Prior to the Heineken deal, CEBCO reorganised its structure and registered both the Moscow and Vladivostok brewery under another company. No price was mentioned.0 million hl of beer and 0.

Get out of my SUN

Interbrew and SUN Trade, the controlling shareholders of SUN Interbrew Ltd, a beer and beverage company operating in Russia and the Ukraine,
announced that they have reached an agreement whereby Interbrew will acquire SUN Trade’s voting and economic interests in SUN Interbrew.
The deal amounts to EUR530 million said Interbrew and will be financed by Interbrew issuing new shares.
Upon completion Interbrew will own 75.5 percent of the voting shares and 96.1 percent of the non-voting shares in SUN Interbrew which in total gives it a 91.2 percent economic interest in SUN Interbrew. SUN Trade and its affiliates will hold approx. 3.4 percent of Interbrew’s enlarged issued share capital following the closing of the AmBev transaction. In July, Alfa had bought 10.8x 2003 EBITDA..

Duma bans beer ads

Russia’s lower house of parliament, the Duma, overwhelmingly approved of a law on 5 August that will ban beer advertising on television between 7am and 10pm because of growing concerns over the number of children who have become addicted to alcohol. The new law also prohibits the use in adverts of people, animals or cartoon figures, and messages that suggest beer will help you achieve your goals, improve your health or mental capacity or quench your thirst. In addition, beer advertising will be banned on the front
and back covers of newspapers and magazines. The law also applies to outdoor advertising within 100 metres of hospi-
tals, schools, sporting arenas and cultural institutions.
The UK’s Guardian newspaper has cited figures that some 2..

Red pen in action

Austrian brewer Brau Union, which is part of Heineken, announced the closure of its loss-making Polish unit, Brau Union Polska, which means that one brewery will be shut down (Warsaw) and the other one integrated into Heineken’s Zywiec group. Brau Union Polska, operating in Poland since 2000, has never turned a profit. Its losses currently stand at PLN100 million according to local sources. After the closure of one brewery, the production of Brau Union’s Krolewskie brand of beer will be transferred to Grupa Zywiec’s Warka brewery outside of Warsaw.
Grupa Zywiec and Brau Union Polska together boasted a 37 percent share of Poland’s beer market after the first three months of 2004, little changed from their market share of 37.3 percent at the end of 2003.6 percent in 2003.7 percent..

Debt reduced sooner than expected

In its H1 financial statement Carlsberg reported the reduction of interest-bearing debt following the purchase of Germany’s Holsten Brewery and Orkla’s stake in Carlsberg. Debt is said to have been reduced by DKK5.6 billion to DKK23.4 billion (USD3.8 billion) thanks to
a combination of cost-cutting measures and the disposal of real estate assets. Although marketing costs in the first half were up DKK250 million on last year, reaching DKK1.2 billion (USD199 million), Carlsberg now expects to deliver a full-year net income of between DKK1.5 and 1.6 billion, helped by a lower tax charge in the UK and Russia.
Operating profit for total beverages during the first half was DKK1.1 billion (USD183 million). Western Europe delivered EBITA of DKK831 million, which was below expectations..

No tax cut

Poland will hold its current excise tax on beer at the maximum level permitted by law despite calls to lower it from brewers fearing that Polish consumers will start buying beer in neighbouring countries.

Bud ahoi

Maltese brewer Farsons has signed a bottling and distribution agreement with Anheuser-Busch for the Maltese market which is to run for five years. UK-brewed Budweiser will be shipped to Malta in temperature-controlled tankers and transferred into the Farsons beer storage tanks upon arrival at the Mriehel brewery.

For he’s a jolly Goodfella

Heineken has launched a new GBP5.5 million advertising campaign featuring Ray Liotta, star of Martin Scorsese’s mobster film Goodfellas, in a bid to revive falling sales following its decision to scrap its Cold-Filtered standard strength lager last year and replace it with the regular Heineken brand.
According to industry sources, sales volumes are currently at around a fifth of previous highs, after the group ditched its standard strength 3.4% ABV drink to bring the UK in line with the other 170 countries where the beer is sold. All Heineken sold in the UK will now be the premium-strength lager with an ABV of 5%.
The new adverts are designed to alert the public to the change in Heineken and refresh the image of the brand..

Things you’ve always wanted...

...such as ale in cartons. Beer drinkers in the UK will soon be able to spill their drinks all down their front as they try to rip open Tetra Pak cartons full of real ale, reports Martin information, London, with a certain amount of glee. Old Kent Inns is set to release its Dog & Duck Best onto the market in 330ml cartons, specially designed for outdoor events. John Bridgen, the company’s Managing Director, reportedly said that the carton was perfect with many city councils banning glassware, plus cheaper to transport and easy to recycle. Obviously, ale is better suited to carton packaging than lager because carton cannot take the pressure of lager. However, a number of off-trade retailers have expressed doubts about the suitability of the packaging..

Spring cleaning

Diageo has announced the closure of its Park Royal Brewery (built in 1936) in London and the transfer of production to its St James’ Gate Brewery in Dublin. This signals the withdrawal of locally produced Guinness from the UK. To cope with the extra two million hl of output, Guinness will invest GBP15 million in the St James’ Gate site to expand its capacity to six million hl. The Park Royal brewery will close in summer 2005 and 90 jobs will be lost. Materially speaking, the proceeds from selling the land to a property developer will probably more than cover the costs of closure and the investment in Dublin. Guinness’ UK beer volumes fell three percent in the second half of 2003 and seven percent in Ireland.....