Russia: Efes Breweries International president - the chairman of Krasny Vostok board

Efes Breweries International President Ahmet Boyacioglu has taken on the position of chairman of the board of directors at the Krasny Vostok brewery in Kazan, Efes said in a press release devoted to the completion of the transaction to buy the brewery on February 22, according to Interfax News Agency.

On Tuesday, Efes Breweries International N.V. (EBI) and its main shareholder (70%) Anadolu Efes Biracilik ve Malt Sanayi A.S. completed the purchase of a 92.34% stake in Krasny Vostok-Solodovpivo from Airat and Ilshat Khairullin. The deal cost the company $364 million.

To finance the deal, Efes Breweries International and Anadolu Efes acquired a $500 million bridge-loan from Citibank and HSBC. The company plans to refinance the loan this year by using various financial instruments.

Krasny Vostok currently owns two breweries in Kazan and Novosibirsk with aggregate production capacity of 100 million dal of beer per year. The company also has three malt houses in Kazan with production capacity of 93,000 tonnes per year. Krasny Vostok has a 3% share on the Russian beer market in tonnage.

A new general director for Krasny Vostok has also been appointed, although the name was not disclosed in the release. A source close to the deal, however, said it would be Turgul Agirbas, general director of Moscow-Efes Brewery.

Efes Breweries International manages nine breweries and two malt houses in Russia (Moscow, Ufa and Rostov), Kazakhstan (Karaganda and Almaty), Romania, Moldova and Serbia. The company's production capacity in Russia (without taking into account Krasny Vostok) totals 77 million dal of beer and 46,000 dal of malt per year.