Russia: Baltika Brewery wins key court battle

Baltika, the Russian joint venture between Carlsberg of Denmark and Scottish & Newcastle Breweries won a victory in a St Petersburg court on November 24 in a complex shareholder rights case, Business Scotsman communicated on November 25. The Arbitration Court of St Petersburg ruled in favour of Baltika Brewery.

The lawsuit had been brought by Baltika minority shareholder Electromir about alleged violation of minority shareholder rights in the restructuring. But the court issued a ruling that the case be dismissed, finding the plaintiff's claims to be legally ungrounded.

Baltika issued a statement last night saying: "Despite numerous public statements about violation of minority shareholder rights, Electromir's legal counsel could not provide the court with any convincing evidence of material damage or any other loss suffered by the company." In its ruling, the court noted that Electromir bought its 50 shares in Baltika only after the board had called the disputed extraordinary general shareholders' meeting.

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