SABMiller enters Ukraine market
Brewer SABMiller has expanded its access to one of the fastest growing beer markets in the world through the purchase of one of the largest brewers in Ukraine.
SABMiller is buying a 99.84% interest in CJSC Sarmat for an undisclosed sum from System Capital Management, a diversified holding company. The value of the assets to be acquired is in the region of $130m.
Sarmat operates a brewery in Donetsk in east Ukraine and owns the brands Sarmat, Dnipro and Drive Max.
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The Ukraine’s medium term forecast for growth in beer consumption is higher than for any other major Central and Eastern European (CEE) market, SABMiller said. The beer market had a growth rate of 14% per annum in the four years to end-2006.
“The Ukrainian beer market has recorded exceptional expansion in recent years, driven by strong economic growth, but it still remains behind other CEE countries in terms of per capita beer consumption,” said Alan Clark, managing director of SABMIller Europe.
