Western brewers’ Russia exit: a windfall for Mr Putin’s cronies

Russia | It was just a matter of time before further details of Western brewers’ departure from Russia would emerge. The fact that their misfortunes became an unexpected enrichment scheme for local elites is beyond doubt. But it still makes pundits wonder whether things would have turned out differently for Western firms if had they decided to dig in rather than leave.

Russian court permits Baltika to use Carlsberg beer labels

Russia | The St Petersburg Arbitration Court ruled in favour of Baltika, and invalidated Carlsberg’s unilateral termination of its beer licenses, the Russian news agency Interfax reported on 18 December 2023.

Russia | After nearly two years of negotiations, Turkish brewer Anadolu Efes agreed to acquire AB-InBev’s stake in their USD 1.3 billion Russian joint venture. This makes AB-InBev the last major Western brewer to officially exit the country.

United Kingdom | We have reached the time of year again when numbers appear that explain how UK beer and brewing have been doing in the past year. The UK beer writer, Tim Webb, crunched the numbers for us and here is his report.

Germany | A final vote on a bill to legalise cannabis that was initially planned for early December was called off amid concerns from leaders of the country’s Social Democratic Party (SPD). The SPD is in a coalition government with the Liberals and the Greens.

United Kingdom | What a sad end. The Ringwood Brewery, on the Hampshire-Dorset border, was put up for sale in June by owner Carlsberg Marston's (CMBC). The firm said the site needed an upgrade to be competitive, but expansion and improvements would have been “challenging and extremely costly” given the limited space and location.

Russia | That was quick. In agreement with Dutch Heineken, its Russian subsidiary United Heineken Breweries has changed its name to United Breweries Holding, Arnest’s CEO Alexey Sagal told Russian media on 5 December. The former Heineken unit will now be known under the acronym OPH.

United Kingdom | Tough trading conditions and rising costs means that overall brewery numbers in the UK have slipped back slightly in the third quarter of 2023, according to the Society of Independent Brewer’s (SIBA) latest tracking figures.

Germany | The German Federal Cartel Office suspects Coca-Cola Europacific Partners of abusing its dominant position in the retail market to the detriment of other manufacturers. The largest bottler by revenue in Coke’s bottling system globally allegedly offered retailers better purchasing conditions if they included the full product range in their offerings, which may have hindered its competitors.

United Kingdom | Jump Ship Brewing, a start-up selling non-alcoholic beers, is suing BrewDog over claims that the multinational beer and pub firm could cause “confusion” and “harm” to its brand, media reported on 21 November.