Carlsberg acquires brewery in HP

NEW DELHI: Danish beer major Carlsberg on Monday said it has acquired a brewery in Himachal Pradesh to scale up capacity as part of its growth acceleration in India.

The company, however, did not disclose any financial details of the acquisition.

The acquisition is being carried out by the company's joint venture, South Asia Breweries, in which it holds 45 per cent stake, Carlsberg said in a statement posted on its website.

A group of investors led by Carlsberg's partner in Sri Lanka, Lion Brewery Ceylon Ltd, holds another 45 per cent stake in its India joint venture. The remaining 10 per cent in the joint venture is held by Industrialisation Fund for Developing Countries.

The acquired brewery has a capacity of 1,50,000 hectolitres and would be operational shortly, the company said, adding it would manufacture Carlsberg various beer brands.

The company also said its greenfield brewery in Rajasthan would be completed in first quarter of 2008. Both the greenfield and acquired breweries would be managed by the company's joint venture company in India, it said.