Danish beer company Carlsberg is looking for more acquisitions in India as part of its strategy to be in the top league of the domestic premium beer market.
Carlsberg has already acquired Himneel Brewery in Himachal Pradesh and is in the process of buying Parag Brewery in Kolkata. "We have filed the application for seeking government approval for the acquisition of Parag Breweries," said Carlsberg Sr Vice-President Asia, Jesper B Madsen
Kolkata-based Parag is currently setting up a new brewery in the city with an initial production capacity of 1.5 to 2 lakh cases per month.
Asked if the company was looking for similar acquisitions in India, Madsen replied, "In India, we will follow both organic and inorganic route to expand our business and in the process we are certainly open for more acquisitions."
The company is going for acquisitions through its subsidiary South Asia Breweries Pvt Ltd. "We have not fixed any sales target as we have to create a separate segment for our product in India and it will be in the premium segment, which till now didn't exist in India," he said.
Carlsberg is already setting up two greenfield plants, one each in Maharashtra and Rajasthan. Each plant will have a capacity of 5 lakh hectolitres per annum and would become operational by the first quarter of 2008-09.
