Russia: Scottish & Newcastle welcomes Baltika merger vote

Scottish & Newcastle plc, joint venture partners in Baltic Beverage Holdings (“BBH”), announced on March 9 it has welcomed the decision by Baltika minority shareholders to approve the merger of Baltika with Pikra, Vena and Yarpivo breweries. Details of the vote, which was adjudicated by Russian stock market authorities, can be found on the BBH website http://www.baltika.ru.

Commenting on the vote, S&N director John Nicolson, who is also chairman of BBH, said: "We are delighted with the overwhelming support of the minorities, which allows us to release between $60m and $80m in synergies to grow Baltika as Russia's leading consumer goods brand."

BBH, a joint venture between Scottish & Newcastle plc and Carlsberg Breweries A/S, is the largest brewer in the Russian Federation, with 36% of the market and the top two Russian beers, including market leader Baltika.

E-malt.com, the global information source for the brewing and malting industry professionals. The bi-weekly E-malt.com Newsletters feature latest industry news, statistics in graphs and tables, world barley and malt prices, and other relevant information. Click here to get full access to E-malt.com. If you are a Castle Malting client, you can get free access to E-malt.com website and publications. Contact us for more information at marketing@castlemalting.com .