AMSTERDAM, Heineken N.V. has obtained control of United Breweries Limited (UBL) in India following recent acquisition of additional ordinary shares in UBL, taking its shareholding in UBL from 46.5% to 61.5%.

Dolf van den Brink, Chairman of the Executive Board / CEO, commented: “UBL has a proud history dating back more than a century as an influential shaper of the beer industry in India. It built its position as the undisputed market leader in India with a strong network of breweries across the country and a fantastic portfolio led by its iconic Kingfisher brand family, complemented more recently by a strong HEINEKEN international brand portfolio. We are honoured to build on this legacy and look forward to working with our colleagues at UBL to continue to win in the market, delight consumers and customers and unlock future growth.”

India offers an exciting long-term growth opportunity as per capita beer consumption is low at 2 litres per annum. Its growing population of nearly 1.4 billion people includes a strong emerging middle class, enabling further premiumisation. UBL will be a top HEINEKEN operating company and Kingfisher a top 5 global brand.

Heineken expects the consolidation of UBL will have a small accretive effect on EPS (beia) and a dilutive effect on operating profit margin (beia).

UBL’s flagship brand ‘Kingfisher’, has achieved international recognition consistently, and has won many awards at international beer festivals. UBL’s most popular beer, Kingfisher Premium Lager beer, is currently available in 69 countries and leads the way among Indian beers in the international market.

HEINEKEN has a well-balanced geographic footprint with leadership positions in both developed and developing markets. It employs more than 80,000 employees and operates breweries, malteries, cider plants and other production facilities in more than 70 countries. Heineken N.V. and Heineken Holding N.V. shares trade on the Euronext in Amsterdam.