Dive Brief:
- Carlsberg will pay $476 million to double its holdings in China's Chongqing Brewery.
- The Danish brewer already owned roughly 30 percent of Chongqing. Carlsberg inherited part of the company when it purchased British brewer Scottish & Newcastle in 2007, and later increased its holdings.
- Carlsberg's purchase of an additional 30.3 percent of Chongqing, which gives Carlsberg control of that company, has been approved by Chinese regulators.
Dive Insight:
Well that didn't take long. It was only a few weeks ago that Carlsberg began revamping its complex ownership requirements to make it easier to buy stakes in other companies. The Chongqing deal is the first since that reorganization, but will almost certainly not be the last. Here's hoping Carlsberg can find profit in the difficult market of Chinese beer drinkers.