Carlsberg Sells Stake in Malawi Business

By Dominic Chopping

Danish brewer Carlsberg A/S (CARL-A.KO) Wednesday announced the sale of its stake in Carlsberg Malawi Limited to Castel Group for an undisclosed fee, as it executes its strategy to slim down the company and focus on core businesses.

As part of the deal, Carlsberg has signed a license agreement allowing Carlsberg beer to continue to be produced and sold in Malawi, it said.

"In line with Carlsberg Group's new strategy, we have evaluated all businesses in order to focus our efforts against a narrower and more precisely-defined set of priorities," said Graham Fewkes, executive vice president of Asia.

Earlier this year, the brewer laid out a new strategic plan that it hopes will position it for growth and reverse a lacklustre earnings trend amid pressure from declining eastern European markets and a weak ruble, in particular.

The initiatives adopted include an overhaul of its Russian business, a focus on premium brands in big cities and an expansion of both non-alcoholic drinks and craft beers. The company has merged all its existing profit improvement initiatives into a new single program, which it hopes would generate total net benefits of 1.5 billion to 2 billion Danish kroner ($225 million-$300 million) by 2018.

Wednesday's sale of its 59% Malawi stake is pending regulatory and corporate approval, it said.

Write to Dominic Chopping at [e-mail]; Twitter: @domchopping @WSJNordics

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 10, 2016 05:46 ET (09:46 GMT)

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