Carlsberg Seen to Become Main Owner of Chinese Brewery

Danish major Carlsberg A/S may become the largest shareholder in Chinese Chongqing Brewery Co. Ltd. by buying 12.25% from Chinese state-owned Chongqing Beer Group, Danish newswire Nyhedsbureauet Direkt said Tuesday.
On Monday, Chongqing Brewery announced that Chongqing Beer Group, currently controlling 32.25% in it, would look to reduce its stake to 20%. This opens a possibility for Carlsberg, which owns 17.5% of Chongqing Brewery, to increase its holding and become the largest shareholder.
When asked by the newswire whether Carlsberg was interested in buying the stake that was put up for sale, Carlsberg's spokesman Jens Bekke denied to comment.
"We have many times said that we have a strategy to expand our presence in Asia in order to create a growth platform for the future. And this interest is unchanged," Bekke said.
In the autumn of 2009, Carlsberg's CEO Jorgen Buhl Rasmussen told Danish daily Jyllands-Posten that the company could relocate its Chinese headquarters to Chongqing in central China.