The Big Brewers’ big bet on non-alcoholic beverages

United Kingdom | By taking over Pepsi bottler and soft drinks firm Britvic for USD 4.2 billion on 8 July, Carlsberg believes it will be better prepared to compensate declining beer consumption in Europe.

Mikkeller is making money from operations for the first time in five years

Denmark | Bjergsø Holding, which owns Danish craft brewers Mikkeller and WarPigs, as well as stakes in various on-premise operations, recently (25 June) published its annual report 2023.

Carlsberg buys stake in French craft brewer Brasserie du Pays Flamand

France | Funny that. A month after Mathieu Lesenne, co-founder of Brasserie du Pays Flamand, told delegates at the Brewers Forum in Lille about his dilemma of growing the firm – each costly investment in kit first led to overcapacity and then to frightful issues with being out of stock – media reported on 1 July that Carlsberg, via its French subsidiary Brasseries Kronenbourg, has purchased a minority stake in his brewery.

United Kingdom | Carlsberg has agreed to pay GBP 3.3 billion (USD 4.2 billion) to take over soft drinks firm and Pepsi bottler Britvic, following two bids which were rejected last month. Carlsberg will also buy out Marston’s stake in its UK brewing joint venture.

Corona brewed in Germany: what about the Reinheitsgebot?

Germany | It came as a shock to German brewers, when at the beginning of June, AB-InBev obtained an exemption to brew its Mexican label Corona Extra at its Hasseröder brewery for the German market and beyond. It was previously brewed in Belgium.

Molson Coors to exit Ireland – a rumour only?

Ireland | There is a substantiated rumour going around that Heineken Ireland is to take over the portfolio of Molson Coors Ireland, subject to Competition Authority approval.

Austria | The news made screaming headlines: The Federal Competition Authority (BWB) seeks to fine Dutch Heineken and its Austrian subsidiary Brau Union potentially billions of euros for market abuse and violations of the anti-trust ban.

Heineken Austria accused of market power abuses: comment

Austria | This is the first time that Austria’s anti-trust watchdog has investigated a single firm for abuses of market dominance. Like many other countries, Austria has had its fair share of violations of competition law, the most flagrant example of illegal conduct being the creation of a cartel between competitors, which may involve price-fixing and/or market sharing. But never before has the competition authority gone after one firm alone.

Activist investor wants C&C Group to seek a buyer

Ireland | There is more to C&C’s troubles than just a few accounting errors. The US hedge fund Engine Capital is putting pressure on the Irish drinks group to put itself up for sale weeks after its CEO quit.

Belgian brewers saw exports decline 7 percent in 2023

Belgium | Alain de Laet, CEO of Brasserie Huyghe, already hinted at a 7 percent decline in Belgian beer exports in 2023 at the Brewers Forum in Lille (26-30 May). But two weeks later, on 14 June, official data by the Belgian Brewers, an industry body, put the decline even higher, at 7.5 percent.