Anheuser Busch looks into India's beer market

The American brewing group Anheuser-Busch Cos. reportedly is interested in purchasing a 26 per cent stake in India's largest brewer United Breweries, reports the St. Louis Post. According to industry experts, this deal could strengthen the Anheuser-Busch's position in Asia, a market with enormous potential. The news comes weeks after Anheuser Busch's aborted bid to buy Brauerei Beck GmbH & Co., the German maker of Beck's beer, which was sold to Interbrew NV of Belgium for $1.6bn (Euro1.754bn). Currently, the brewing company owns 91.8 per cent of the Budweiser Wuhan International Brewing Co. and a smaller stake in Tsingtao Brewing Co., both in China, and also has license agreements with breweries in Japan, South Korea and the Philippines. Brewery executives have expected for a long time that China will become the world's largest beer market, but India could develop into a major market for Anheuser Busch, said Tom Pirko, a beer-industry consultant in California. India boasts a middle class bigger than the entire U.S. population, he said. The $1bn (Euro1.096bn) Indian market for liquor is expanding 10 per cent a year. "India is a phenomenal opportunity,"​ Pirko said. "It is a serious place to do business."​ United Breweries was founded in 1915, operates 14 breweries throughout India and controls about 44 per cent of the local market. Last year's sales amounted to $425m (Euro466m) last year, largely on the strength of its popular Kingfisher brand. Over the past few months, the company has been looking for a strategic partner that can extend the international reach of Kingfisher, which the company exports to 50 countries.