| UB was using this brewery since 1996 under management lease from another regional liquor player Adi Kesavulu. |
| UB is also increasing its authorised share capital from the present Rs 250 crore to Rs 280 crore. |
| The brewery has a capacity of one million hectolitres per year and is situated at Nelamangala on the Bangalore-Mumbai highway. |
| Kalyan Ganguly, managing director, UB, said: "We were mulling the acquisition of the unit since long. The move will help us keep up the supply of beer in the Karnataka region as demand grows." |
| He said the financing details of the deal are still being worked out and it will be mainly funded through internal accruals. |
| With the acquisition, UB gains a strong hold over breweries in the country. The brewing industry in India is characterised by a large number of small-sized units. |
| Over 57 breweries produce only six million hectolitres, representing 76 million cases. |
| UB posted a nine per cent growth in volumes and sold 33.10 million cases last fiscal, as against the industry growth of two per cent. |
| Kingfisher, its flagship brand, is fuelling the growth of UB and its premium lager sold over 18.8 million cases, representing a growth of 1.56 per cent over the previous year. |
| Its another brand - Kingfisher Strong "" recorded sales of 10 million cases, achieving a growth of around 29 per cent. |
| Overall, UB's marketshare improved by 300 basis points to 40 per cent, replicating a growth of 300 basis points in the previous year. |
| UB also decided to promote its own Bottle Trading Company in an effort to overcome the shortage of bottles being faced by the liquor industry. According to an industry analyst, UB has been forced into this move after facing the brunt of monopoly in the bottle industry. |
| "The industry as a whole and UB in particular have initiated a number of steps to break the stranglehold and softening of bottle prices is now being felt," he said. |
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