Brewing giant Carlsberg Group has increased its stake in Chongqing Brewery (CBC) from 29.7% to 60% with the acquisition of 146.6 million shares for a purchase price of RMB2.9bn ($477.4m).
This deal was announced in March 2013 and will fully consolidate CBC into Carlsberg's accounts with effect from December 2013.
Based in China, CBC has 23 breweries located across Western and Eastern China, and employs 6,500 employees. It offers beers under Shancheng brand.
Carlsberg Group president and CEO Jørgen Buhl Rasmussen said that this transaction, following on from their decision to construct two new breweries in China and Myanmar, further reinforces their commitment to Asia, and in particular to China.
"We will now ensure that CBC becomes integrated into the Carlsberg organisation and is able to share in our best practices, be they in terms of marketing and sales excellence, production and procurement improvements, environmental efficiency or our outstanding research and development resources," Buhl added.