FDBusiness.com

Mahou San Miguel, Spain’s leading brewer, has established its first international subsidiary in India through the acquisition of 100% of Arian Breweries & Distilleries, a company owned by a local family group in which it already held a 50% stake through a joint venture agreement reached in 2012.

“These have been two very exciting years during which together with our partners we have learned a great deal about the Indian market and consumers,” says Alberto Rodríguez-Toquero, managing director of Mahou San Miguel. “We now have the knowledge and experience to take a further step and assume full control of the development of our business in India. Overseas operations will be our main growth lever over the coming years.”

The acquisition represents a step change in the internationalisation strategy of Mahou San Miguel, which set up its International Business Unit headed by Jonathan Stordy in 2012 with the aim of driving forward an area which over the last five years has seen its proportion of the company’s overall sales double.

Mahou San Miguel has more than 60 professionals in place in India, along with a brewery located in Bhiwadi (Rajasthan State) with an output capacity of 250,000 hectolitres per year. It currently has a presence in five states around the country through its local brand Dare Devil. Flagship brand Mahou and Andalucian craft beer Alhambra Reserva 1925 will shortly be added to the company´s portfolio in India.

Per capita consumption of beer in India is currently among the lowest in the world (1.5 litres per year), although as a whole the market is already half the size of the beer market in Spain, where consumption stands at 47.5 litres per capita. With a young and growing population of some 1.2 billion, expectations for growth of the Indian breweries sector are particularly positive, with expansion of 11% per annum expected over the next three years.