VALBY, Denmark, Sept. 22, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- At a general assembly held on 22 September 2003, the shareholders of the Serbian brewery Pivara Celarevo A.D. have decided to carry through a direct placing of shares, which will provide Carlsberg Breweries A/S (Other OTC:CABHF) with 51 per cent of the shares in Pivara Celarevo. Subsequently, Carlsberg Breweries must make a public tender for the remaining 49 per cent of the shares in Pivara Celarevo. The price per share is EUR 43.12/DKK 320, which gives a total price of the entire share capital of EUR 53 million/DKK 394 million. The transaction is subject to a due diligence process which starts immediately and to approval by authorities.
The share capital is owned by approx. 1,200 shareholders, primarily private individuals out of whom approx. 75 per cent are employed by Pivara Celarevo, which is the third largest brewery in Serbia. The brewery is situated in the town of Celarevo in the Vojvodina province about 130 kilometres north of the capital Beograd and its only brand Lav (means lion) is the second strongest standard brand in the country. The brewery has a capacity of 1.3 million hl beer. In 2002, Pivara Celarevo had a turnover of EUR 23 million/DKK171 million, an operating profit (based on local accounting principles) of EUR 5.6 million/DKK 42 million and sold 780,000 hl beer, corresponding to a market share of approx. 15 per cent.
"The acquisition of Pivara Celarevo strengthens our position in the Balkans where we already have breweries in Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania," said President and CEO of Carlsberg Breweries Nils S. Andersen.
In 2002, the total Serbian beer consumption amounted to 5 million hl and with a population of around 10 million, the annual per capita consumption was approx. 50 litres. By way of comparison, the per capita consumption in neighbouring countries like Croatia and Slovenia is 75 litres and 100 litres, respectively.