SABMiller
Encyclopedia
SABMiller plc is a global brewing
and bottling
company headquartered in London
, United Kingdom
. It is the world's second-largest brewing company measured by revenues (after Anheuser-Busch InBev
) and is also a major bottler of Coca-Cola
. Its brands include Grolsch, Miller Genuine Draft, Peroni Nastro Azzurro and Pilsner Urquell
. It has operations in 75 countries across Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, North America and South America and sells around 21 billion litres
of lager
per year.
SABMiller has its primary listing on the London Stock Exchange
and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index
. It has a secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
in 1895 in South Africa. For many decades the operations of South African Breweries were mainly limited to southern Africa, where it had established a dominant position in the market, until 1990 when it began investing in Europe.
After listing on the London Stock Exchange in 1999 to raise capital for acquisitions, the group purchased the Miller Brewing Company
in North America from the Altria Group
in 2002, and changed its name to SABMiller.
Following this, the group’s next major acquisition was of a major interest in Bavaria S. A., South America’s second largest brewer and owner of the Aguila and Club Colombia brands in 2005.
The company became engaged in the hostile takeover of Fosters
in August 2011, and in September 2011 the board of Foster's agreed to a takeover bid valuing the company at Aus$9.9bn (USD$10.2bn; £6.5bn).
The deal is expected to be completed by the end of 2011, but to exclude the Foster's lager brand in the UK and Europe, where it is owned by Heineken
.
In November 2011, SABMiller launched Impala Cervejas in Africa, the first commercially produced cassava
beer, although Africans have been making cassava home brews for generations. The taste is described as "somewhat bitter, somewhat tangy, not sweet".
, Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Miller Genuine Draft and Grolsch along with leading local brands such as Aguila, Castle, Miller Lite, Snow, and Tyskie.
Company.
Brands include:
Castle Lager, Grolsch, Castle Milk Stout, Hansa Marzen Gold, Hansa Pilsener, Carling Black Label, Castle Lite, Redd’s, Skelters, Brutal Fruit, Blakes & Doyle and Sarita.
Limited, is the leading brand by volume in China. SABMiller is the second-largest brewer in India and has joint ventures in Vietnam and Australia. SABMiller acquired the Foster
's brand for the Indian and Vietnamese markets.
Brands include:
N'gola, 2M, Castle Lager, Castle Milk Stout, Eagle, Fosters, Kilimanjaro, Haywards 5000, Royal Challenge, Knock out, Indus Pride, Snow and Zorok.
Brands include:
Pilsner Urquell
, Velkopopovický Kozel
, Radegast
Nastro Azzurro, Peroni
, Tyskie
, Topvar
, Ursus
, Dreher, Grolsch and Lech.
Lager brands include:
Isenbeck (Argentina), Aguila, Club Colombia, Costeña, Poker, Pilsen (Colombia), Cristal, Pilsen Callao, Pilsen Trujillo, Cusqueña, Arequipeña (Peru), Pilsener, Club (Ecuador), Pilsener, Regia, Suprema, Golden Light (El Salvador), Port Royal, Salva Vida, Imperial (Honduras), Atlas (Panama) and Balboa (Panama).
announced a joint venture to be known as MillerCoors
. U.S. antitrust regulators approved the joint venture on 5 June 2008. The merger was completed on 30 June 2008 and MillerCoors began operation as a combined entity on 1 July 2008. The combined venture will be headquartered in Chicago, IL. Pete Coors has been named as chairman of the new company, and Molson Coors Chief Executive Leo Kiely will be the new CEO of the joint venture. Tom Long, CEO of Miller, will be appointed president and chief commercial officer.
Brands include:
Miller Lite
, Miller Genuine Draft, Olde English 800, Milwaukee’s Best, Miller Chill, and Leinenkugel.
agreed to a takeover bid by SABMiller, valuing the company at Aus$9.9bn (USD$10.2bn; £6.5bn).
Brands include:
Carlton Draught
, Cascade Draught (see Cascade Brewery
), Foster's Lager
, Melbourne Bitter
, Pure Blonde, and Victoria Bitter
.
SABMiller's brands include famous international beers. Four of them are classified by the company as "global beers", the flagships of SAB Miller: Pilsner Urquell
Peroni Nastro Azzurro Miller Genuine Draft Grolsch
SAB Miller also owns over 150 market-leading local brands. The company is one of the world’s largest Coca-Cola
bottlers and has carbonated soft drinks bottling operations in 14 markets.
published a report alleging that SABMiller has avoided paying a total of around £20 million of corporation tax in five African countries – Ghana
, Mozambique, Tanzania
, South Africa and Zambia
– and India. SABMiller has denied these allegations.
John Davidson joined the group as General Counsel and Group Company Secretary in 2006, having previously worked at international law firm, Lovells.
Brewing
Brewing is the production of beer through steeping a starch source in water and then fermenting with yeast. Brewing has taken place since around the 6th millennium BCE, and archeological evidence suggests that this technique was used in ancient Egypt...
and bottling
Bottling line
Bottling lines are production lines that fill a product, generally a beverage, into bottles on a large scale.-Wine bottling process:The first step in bottling wine is depalletising, where the empty wine bottles are removed from the original pallet packaging delivered from the manufacturer, so that...
company headquartered in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It is the world's second-largest brewing company measured by revenues (after Anheuser-Busch InBev
Anheuser-Busch InBev
Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V. is a Belgian-Brazilian publicly-traded company, based in Leuven, Belgium. It is the largest global brewer with nearly 25% global market share and one of the world's top five consumer products companies by EBITA....
) and is also a major bottler of Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
. Its brands include Grolsch, Miller Genuine Draft, Peroni Nastro Azzurro and Pilsner Urquell
Pilsner Urquell
Plzeňský Prazdroj , known better by its German name Pilsner Urquell , is a bottom-fermented beer produced since 1842 in Pilsen, part of today's Czech Republic. Pilsner Urquell was the first pilsner beer in the world...
. It has operations in 75 countries across Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, North America and South America and sells around 21 billion litres
Litre
pic|200px|right|thumb|One litre is equivalent to this cubeEach side is 10 cm1 litre water = 1 kilogram water The litre is a metric system unit of volume equal to 1 cubic decimetre , to 1,000 cubic centimetres , and to 1/1,000 cubic metre...
of lager
Lager
Lager is a type of beer made from malted barley that is brewed and stored at low temperatures. There are many types of lager; pale lager is the most widely-consumed and commercially available style of beer in the world; Pilsner, Bock, Dortmunder Export and Märzen are all styles of lager...
per year.
SABMiller has its primary listing on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index
FTSE 100 Index
The FTSE 100 Index, also called FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the footsie , is a share index of the 100 most highly capitalised UK companies listed on the London Stock Exchange....
. It has a secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
History
The origins of the company date back to the foundation of South African BreweriesSouth African Breweries
The South African Breweries , then called Castle Breweries, was founded in 1895 specifically to serve a new market of miners and prospectors in and around Johannesburg. Two years later, it became the first industrial company to list on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange...
in 1895 in South Africa. For many decades the operations of South African Breweries were mainly limited to southern Africa, where it had established a dominant position in the market, until 1990 when it began investing in Europe.
After listing on the London Stock Exchange in 1999 to raise capital for acquisitions, the group purchased the Miller Brewing Company
Miller Brewing Company
The Miller Brewing Company is an American beer brewing company owned by the United Kingdom-based SABMiller. Its regional headquarters are located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and the company has brewing facilities in Albany, Georgia; Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin; Eden, North Carolina; Fort Worth, Texas;...
in North America from the Altria Group
Altria Group
Altria Group, Inc. is based in Henrico County, Virginia, and is the parent company of Philip Morris USA, John Middleton, Inc., U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company, Inc., Philip Morris Capital Corporation, and Chateau Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. It is one of the world's largest tobacco corporations...
in 2002, and changed its name to SABMiller.
Following this, the group’s next major acquisition was of a major interest in Bavaria S. A., South America’s second largest brewer and owner of the Aguila and Club Colombia brands in 2005.
The company became engaged in the hostile takeover of Fosters
Foster's Group
Foster's Group is a beer group with interests in brewing and soft drinks. Foster's Group is the brewer of the Foster's Lager. Foster's Group Limited is a publicly-listed company on the Australian Securities Exchange and is based in Melbourne, Victoria...
in August 2011, and in September 2011 the board of Foster's agreed to a takeover bid valuing the company at Aus$9.9bn (USD$10.2bn; £6.5bn).
The deal is expected to be completed by the end of 2011, but to exclude the Foster's lager brand in the UK and Europe, where it is owned by Heineken
Heineken
Heineken is a Dutch beer which has been brewed by Heineken International since 1873. It is available in a 4.6% alcohol variety in countries such as Ireland. It is the flagship product of the Heineken company and is made of purified water, malted barley, hops, and yeast. In 1886 H...
.
In November 2011, SABMiller launched Impala Cervejas in Africa, the first commercially produced cassava
Cassava
Cassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...
beer, although Africans have been making cassava home brews for generations. The taste is described as "somewhat bitter, somewhat tangy, not sweet".
Operations
SABMiller has grown from its original South African base into a global company with operations in both developed markets and in emerging economies such as Eastern Europe, China and India. It is one of the world’s largest brewers, with brewing interests and distribution agreements across six continents. Its worldwide portfolio of brands includes premium international beers such as Pilsner UrquellPilsner Urquell
Plzeňský Prazdroj , known better by its German name Pilsner Urquell , is a bottom-fermented beer produced since 1842 in Pilsen, part of today's Czech Republic. Pilsner Urquell was the first pilsner beer in the world...
, Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Miller Genuine Draft and Grolsch along with leading local brands such as Aguila, Castle, Miller Lite, Snow, and Tyskie.
South Africa
This is the group’s most established market to date. Local subsidiary SAB Ltd’s soft drink division is also the country’s largest producer of products for the Coca-ColaCoca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
Company.
Brands include:
Castle Lager, Grolsch, Castle Milk Stout, Hansa Marzen Gold, Hansa Pilsener, Carling Black Label, Castle Lite, Redd’s, Skelters, Brutal Fruit, Blakes & Doyle and Sarita.
Africa and Asia
SABMiller’s brewing operations in Africa span 31 countries. In China, the group’s national brand in that country, Snow, is produced in partnership with China Resources EnterpriseChina Resources Enterprise
China Resources Enterprise is the subsidiary and the listed company of China Resources Holdings. It is a conglomerate enterprise focusing on retailing, beverage, food processing and distribution, textiles and real estate in Hong Kong and Mainland China...
Limited, is the leading brand by volume in China. SABMiller is the second-largest brewer in India and has joint ventures in Vietnam and Australia. SABMiller acquired the Foster
Foster's Lager
Foster's Lager is an internationally distributed Australian brand of 5.0% abv pale lager, It is a product of Foster's Group brewed under licence in several countries, including the U.S. and Russia...
's brand for the Indian and Vietnamese markets.
Brands include:
N'gola, 2M, Castle Lager, Castle Milk Stout, Eagle, Fosters, Kilimanjaro, Haywards 5000, Royal Challenge, Knock out, Indus Pride, Snow and Zorok.
Europe
SABMiller’s entry into the European market began in 1995 with the acquisition of Dreher in Hungary. The group’s European operations are mostly centred in the fast developing consumer markets in Central and Eastern Europe (Hungary, Romania, Poland, Czech Republic and Russia), although there are operations in Italy, France, UK, Spain and Germany where it imports its international brands. On 19 November 2007, the board of Royal Grolsch NV accepted a €816 million offer for the company by SABMiller. The takeover was completed with the delisting of Grolsch's shares on 20 March 2008.Brands include:
Pilsner Urquell
Pilsner Urquell
Plzeňský Prazdroj , known better by its German name Pilsner Urquell , is a bottom-fermented beer produced since 1842 in Pilsen, part of today's Czech Republic. Pilsner Urquell was the first pilsner beer in the world...
, Velkopopovický Kozel
Velkopopovický Kozel
Velkopopovický Kozel is a Czech lager produced since 1874. In that year, Franz Ringhoffer founded a brewery in Velké Popovice near Prague. Their symbol is a goat ....
, Radegast
Radegast (beer)
Radegast is a Czech beer brewed in Nošovice, Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic since 1970. The beer is named after the god Radegast. Stemming from the name for the beer is the slogan: "Život je hořký: Bohudík", a Czech phrase which translates into English as "Life is bitter: Thank God" .The...
Nastro Azzurro, Peroni
Peroni Brewery
Peroni Brewery , is a brewing company, founded in Vigevano in Lombardia, Italy in 1846. It is now based in Rome and is owned by SABMiller....
, Tyskie
Tyskie
Tyskie is one of the best selling brands of beer in Europe, with around 18% of the European market. Tyskie also has a world distribution, one the biggest export partners is Canada and the United States...
, Topvar
Topvar
Topvar Breweries is a beer brewing company in Slovakia. The company was created by the fusion of the Saris and Topvar breweries on 1 January 2007, after both were purchased by global brewing giant SABMiller in 2006....
, Ursus
Ursus (beer)
Ursus Breweries, a subsidiary of SABMiller plc, is one of the top brewers in Romania. The company is based in Bucharest and owns 4 breweries in Cluj-Napoca, Timişoara, Buzau and Braşov, employing over 1,700 people...
, Dreher, Grolsch and Lech.
Latin America
SABMiller first entered the Latin American Market with the acquisition of Cerveceria Hondureña in Honduras, making the company the first international brewer to enter Central America. Since then, the group has expanded its Latin American operations into six countries, including Colombia, El Salvador, Ecuador, Panama and Peru.Lager brands include:
Isenbeck (Argentina), Aguila, Club Colombia, Costeña, Poker, Pilsen (Colombia), Cristal, Pilsen Callao, Pilsen Trujillo, Cusqueña, Arequipeña (Peru), Pilsener, Club (Ecuador), Pilsener, Regia, Suprema, Golden Light (El Salvador), Port Royal, Salva Vida, Imperial (Honduras), Atlas (Panama) and Balboa (Panama).
North America
On 9 October 2007, SABMiller and Molson Coors Brewing CompanyMolson Coors Brewing Company
Molson Coors Brewing Company is a company that was created by the merger of two of North America's largest breweries: Molson of Canada, and Coors of the United States, on February 9, 2005...
announced a joint venture to be known as MillerCoors
MillerCoors
MillerCoors is a joint venture between SABMiller and Molson Coors Brewing Company, announced on October 9, 2007. The joint venture has the responsibility of selling brands such as Miller Lite, Miller High Life, Miller Genuine Draft, Coors, Coors Light, Molson Canadian, and Blue Moon in the United...
. U.S. antitrust regulators approved the joint venture on 5 June 2008. The merger was completed on 30 June 2008 and MillerCoors began operation as a combined entity on 1 July 2008. The combined venture will be headquartered in Chicago, IL. Pete Coors has been named as chairman of the new company, and Molson Coors Chief Executive Leo Kiely will be the new CEO of the joint venture. Tom Long, CEO of Miller, will be appointed president and chief commercial officer.
Brands include:
Miller Lite
Miller Lite
Miller Lite is a 4.2% abv pale lager brand sold by MillerCoors of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Sibling beers include Miller Genuine Draft and Miller High Life.-History:...
, Miller Genuine Draft, Olde English 800, Milwaukee’s Best, Miller Chill, and Leinenkugel.
Australia
In September 2011, the board of Foster's GroupFoster's Group
Foster's Group is a beer group with interests in brewing and soft drinks. Foster's Group is the brewer of the Foster's Lager. Foster's Group Limited is a publicly-listed company on the Australian Securities Exchange and is based in Melbourne, Victoria...
agreed to a takeover bid by SABMiller, valuing the company at Aus$9.9bn (USD$10.2bn; £6.5bn).
Brands include:
Carlton Draught
Carlton Draught
Carlton Draught is a 4.6% pale lager made in Australia by Carlton & United Beverages.-Description:Carlton Draught is a pale lager which is sold on tap in its home state of Victoria as well as in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia, and is one of Australia's most...
, Cascade Draught (see Cascade Brewery
Cascade Brewery
Cascade Brewery is the oldest continually operating brewery in Australia. It is based in South Hobart, Tasmania. The Cascade estate was founded beside the clean water of the Hobart Rivulet in 1824 by Peter Degraves, an entrepreneur who emigrated from England...
), Foster's Lager
Foster's Lager
Foster's Lager is an internationally distributed Australian brand of 5.0% abv pale lager, It is a product of Foster's Group brewed under licence in several countries, including the U.S. and Russia...
, Melbourne Bitter
Melbourne Bitter
Melbourne Bitter is a beer brewed by Carlton & United Beverages, a subsidiary of Foster's Group. While originally having an ABV of 4.9%, it has since been reduced to 4.6% ABV. Melbourne bitter is available in 375 mL bottles "stubbies", 375 mL cans "tinnies" and 750 mL bottles...
, Pure Blonde, and Victoria Bitter
Victoria Bitter
Victoria Bitter is one of the many iconic beers manufactured in the Australian state of Victoria. VB currently maintains the highest market share of all beer sold in Australia, both on tap and packaged...
.
Brands
Pilsner Urquell
Plzeňský Prazdroj , known better by its German name Pilsner Urquell , is a bottom-fermented beer produced since 1842 in Pilsen, part of today's Czech Republic. Pilsner Urquell was the first pilsner beer in the world...
Peroni Nastro Azzurro Miller Genuine Draft Grolsch
SAB Miller also owns over 150 market-leading local brands. The company is one of the world’s largest Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
bottlers and has carbonated soft drinks bottling operations in 14 markets.
Environment
SABMiller runs a number of sustainable development initiatives across its companies and in the countries in which it operates. They use new lightweight bottles that use 30% less glass. The lightweight bottles are designed to not only reduce the amount of waste materials but also cut down on energy used in production and distribution reducing the company's carbon emissions. SABMiller submits to a number of third party annual reports that review the company's environmental record. The corporation provides links to such reports on their own website.Taxation
In November 2010 the charity ActionAidActionAid
ActionAid was founded in 1972 as a child sponsorship charity when 88 UK supporters sponsored 88 children in India and Kenya, the focus primarily being to provide children with an education. Global accounts are now reported in Euros and in 2007 and 2008 turnover was close to 180m Euros...
published a report alleging that SABMiller has avoided paying a total of around £20 million of corporation tax in five African countries – Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
, Mozambique, Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
, South Africa and Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
– and India. SABMiller has denied these allegations.
Senior management
Graham Mackay is the chief executive of SABMiller. His 2009 salary for this role is £1.1 million increasing 4.1% to £1.145 million in 2010.John Davidson joined the group as General Counsel and Group Company Secretary in 2006, having previously worked at international law firm, Lovells.