Kofola ČeskoSlovensko can buy a majority stake in Pivovary CZ Group, which produces Holba, Zubr and Litovel beers. It may also buy Fontána, which sells alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages in the Czech Republic. The transaction has been approved by the Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS), it announced.
“The merger will not result in a significant distortion of competition. The decision is final,” the authority said. Since December, when it started looking into the merger, it has mainly examined the merged firms’ market shares in the soft drinks and beer markets, both in wholesale sales and in sales directly to restaurants and pubs. It concluded that the merger would not distort competition in either of these markets.
Pivovary CZ Group is the fifth largest brewing group in the Czech Republic, with its annual production planned to exceed 800,000 hectolitres last year, more than a third of which goes for export. The breweries in Hanušovice, Přerov and Litovel employ almost 500 people.
Pivovary CZ Group is owned by Moravská pivovarská, while Kofola is buying 100 per cent of the shares through Pivovary Triangl. Pivovary Triangl was founded in November this year and is based in Krnov in the Bruntál region, while Kofola ČeskoSlovensko holds 51 per cent, investment group RSJ holds 29 per cent and Úsovsko holds 20 per cent.
Kofola has previously said that the new acquisition will allow it to grow in another stable segment with export potential and that, even taking into account the specifics of the beer market, Pivovary CZ Group will remain its independently managed pillar. René Musila, one of the founders and Chief Operating Officer of Kofola Group, will take over the management of the breweries after the acquisition is completed.
Kofola, headquartered in Ostrava, is one of the most important producers of soft drinks in Central Europe, with 11 production plants in five European markets. The company’s products, in addition to its namesake beverage, include the Rajec, Korunní, Ondrášovka, Kláštorná Kalcia, Jupí, Vinea and Semtex brands. The group includes the UGO network, the Czech producer of mixtures from medicinal plants Leros, the Slovenian company Radenska and the Croatian producer of mineral waters Studenac. Kofola has more than 2,000 employees. The majority owner of the group is Aetos, owned by the Samaras family and the other founders of Kofola, who are shareholders René Musila and Tomáš Jendřejek.
Source: Kofola and CTK
