Heineken moves into Belarus

The season of goodwill has not been entirely devoid of business deals with Heineken announcing its acquisition of Syabar Brewing. The Belarus brewer owns Bobrov, the second largest beer brand in Belarus as well as the “premium” Syabar.

Heineken purchased Syabar’s holding company (based in Cyprus) for an undisclosed sum from a syndicate led by Detroit Investments and the International Finance Corporation, which is affiliated to the World Bank.

Nico Nusmeier, Heineken’s regional president for Central and Eastern Europe commented: “Belarus is a fast-growing market and this deal will give us an excellent platform from which to grow both the Heineken brand as well as our imported Russian brands”.

db,  FIonnuala Synnott, 02.01.08