BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

21/12/2006

BBH acquires 30% of Belarus brewery for $13,6 mln

MINSK. Dec 21 (Interfax-West) - Baltic Beverages Holding AB (BBH) has acquired 30% of the Belarus brewery Olivaria, Nikolai Dudko, the brewery's director, told Interfax.

The deal was sealed in Minsk on December 20.

The brewery issued an additional 36,711 common shares with par value of 376,590 Belarusian rubles, which were all purchased by BBH for $13.6 million.

BBH has also allocated a loan of $4.9 million to the brewery, Dudko said. The money will be invested in development and be used to repay debts on earlier loans raised from Belarusian banks, he said.

Increasing the Olivaria charter capital and selling the additional shares to BBH has reduced the EBRD stake in the brewery to 21% from 30%. Private shareholders own about 49%.

The EBRD acquired 30% of additional Olivaria shares in the fall of 2005 for 8.97 billion Bel. rubles ($4.1 million).

Olivaria holds about 10% of the Belarus beer market, Dudko said.

The brewery was established in 1994 on the basis of the Belarus brewery. The company plans to produce 36 million liters of beer in 2006, up 37%. Production is set to grow to 45 million liters in 2007.

BBH shareholders are Carlsberg A/S and Scottish & Newcastle Plc, each with 50%. BBH owns 19 breweries in seven countries in Eastern Europe, including Russia, where the company holds a 36% share.

Source:

http://www.interfax.com/3/225386/news.aspx

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