US brewer Molson Coors gains from InBev and SABMiller merger

American beer company Molson Coors is a beneficiary of the global merger of Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller. As part of its $107-billion takeover of SABMiller, AB InBev had said on November 11 that the merged group would offload a bunch of big beer brands to Molson Coors, the joint venture partner of SABMiller in the United States.

This includes the rights to the popular Miller beer brand globally. This acquisition will be critical from an India point of view, according to analysts. This is because Molson Coors, which entered India by acquiring a controlling stake in Cobra India in 2011 (Cobra beer is strong in states such as Bihar), has been looking to strengthen its presence in the country with a combination of local and international brands.

In April this year, Molson Coors acquired Mohali-based Mount Shivalik Breweries, which owned beer brand Thunderbolt (strong in markets such as Punjab and Haryana). Both the acquisitions have resulted in Molson Coors taking control of local breweries. Molson Coors Cobra, the joint venture created after the acquisition of controlling stake in Cobra India, owns a brewery in Bihar, while the Mount Shivalik acquisition gave Molson Coors control of two breweries in Punjab and Haryana, respectively.

Molson Coors has also brought some of its international brands such as Carling to India. The worldwide acquisition of Miller could see the latter being introduced in the Indian market, where there is a strong recall and equity for it, analysts tracking the market said.

While announcing its September quarter results recently, Molson Coors said its international business was driven by higher volume in India and Latin America. Total international sales volumes increased 12.1 per cent, driven by triple-digit volume growth in India due to strong performance of the company's existing business as well as its acquisition of Mount Shivalik Breweries, it said.

Like most international beer majors, Molson Coors is expected to consolidate these gains with further acquisitions and introduction of new brands in India.