FDBusiness.com

The Carlsberg Group has increased its stake in Chinese brewer Chongqing Brewery Company Co from 29.7% to 60% for a total purchase price of RMB2.9 billion (approximately DKr 2.6 billion, Eur348 million). CBC will be fully consolidated in Carlsberg’s accounts with effect from December 2013.

CBC has 23 breweries located across Western and Eastern China, and employs 6,500 employees. Its leading brand is Shancheng, and CBC has a 85% market share in Chongqing, a city with a population of around 35 million people. In the last two years, CBC has started producing two of the Carlsberg Group’s leading brands, Carlsberg and Tuborg, and both are delivering promising results. This is in line with the Carlsberg Group’s approach of investing in and supporting local power brands, and at the same time introducing its international premium brands.

Jorgen Buhl Rasmussen (pictured), president and chief executive of the Carlsberg Group, says: “This transaction, following on from our decision to construct two new breweries in China and Myanmar, further reinforces our commitment to Asia, and in particular to China, where we see exciting growth potential. We will now ensure that CBC becomes integrated into the Carlsberg organisation and is able to share our best practices, be they in terms of marketing and sales excellence, production and procurement improvements, environmental efficiency or our outstanding research and development resources.”

He adds: “We have had a very good relationship with CBC and its main shareholder since 2008 and we believe that through closer cooperation with Carlsberg, the performance of this large-scale beer business will be significantly enhanced.”