The Dutch brewing group, Heineken, has announced that it has completed the acquisition of a 68.8% stake in the Croatian brewery, Karlovacka Pivovara, from Southern Breweries Establishment (SBE), a joint venture in which Chilean brewer CCU owns 50%.
Heineken said it paid €234.61 a share for the stake but declined to say how many shares the 68.8% stake comprised. However, CCU said that it would receive a CHP19.7 billion (US$27.1m) extraordinary profit from the sale of assets in the Croatian brewer. CCU director, Patricio Jottar, said the extraordinary profit would be reflected in its first-quarter results. SBE announced on Tuesday that the deal was worth €82.5m (US$89.1m).
The sale was originally announced in January as part of Heineken’s plans to buy 50% of Irsa, the company which controls CCU. According to Croatian law, Heineken must now make a public offer for the remaining shares in Karlovacka Pivovara.
Karlovacka Pivovara has a 19% share of the Croatian beer market, with annual volumes of around 850,000 hectolitres. Heineken said the acquisition of Karlovacka Pivovara, Croatia’s second-largest brewer, would further strengthen its position in Central Europe.
