Efes Beverage Group rapidly expands in Europe and enters Serbia

Efes Beverage Group rapidly expands in Europe and enters Serbia

Efes Breweries International N.V. (“EBI”), the Holland based subsidiary of the Efes Beverage Group conducting the Group’s international beer operations, has acquired the majority shares of the Pancevo Brewery (“Pancevo”) in Serbia, located on the outskirts of Belgrade. Therefore EBI has added Serbia in its portfolio of European markets currently comprising of Russia, Ukraine, Romania, and Moldova. The total number of markets that EBI operates, thus, has increased to 6, including Kazakhstan, one of the major markets in Central Asia.

Serbian beer market, where the competition consists of local breweries, has an estimated total consumption exceeding 470 million litres and per capita consumption of around 58 litres as of 2002. Pancevo operates with 3 brands “Weifert”, “Karsten” and “Standard” in the Serbian beer market and is expected to reach a capacity utilization ratio of around 50% in 2003. EBI has acquired 63% stake in Pancevo through a cash contribution to the capital increase of the company. The fresh capital injected in Pancevo, amounting to around 6.5 million USD, will be used to improve the product quality and the technical infrastructure of the brewery.

Furthermore a total capital investment of approximately 10 million USD is planned until 2005, to increase the capacity from the current level of 40 million litres. Mr. Muhtar Kent, president and CEO of the Efes Beverage Group, has said “We will integrate Pancevo’s 250 years of brewing heritage with Efes’ proven technological as well as marketing capabilities to be a leading brewer in Serbia. We will act with speed to fully leverage our advantage of being the first International Brewer to enter into Serbia.” Efes Beverage Group is one of the largest beverage groups across a territory spanning from the Adriatic to China, currently consisting of 14 breweries, 4 malteries and 9 Coca-Cola bottling facilities in 10 countries. The Group is among the 10 largest European brewers by sales volume as of 2002, and is growing to become one of the strongest players in the region.

Efes Beverage Group brands are enjoyed in over 35 countries worldwide and Efes Pilsen, the Group’s primary brand, is one of the top 10 European brands that beer consumers prefer worldwide. The Efes Beverage Group, whilst successfully extending its brands to markets outside of Turkey, also introduces leading global brands to its existing markets. In Turkey, the Group produces the worldwide globally recognized brands like “Miller Genuine Draft” and “Beck’s”, and commenced production of one of the foremost brands in Germany, “Warsteiner Premium Verum”, in the Russian Federation.