Cobra beer seeks local buyouts in addition to its greenfield projects
By Our Corporate Bureau | 28 Sep 2007
Mumbai: UK-based Karan Bilimoria's Cobra Beer has three greenfield projects in the country on the anvil for the next three years, entailing an investment of up to $50 million.
The first greenfield brewery is scheduled to come up in Punjab in about two years, followed by one in Hyderabad, and another somewhere in the southwest.
In addition to the Greenfield projects, the company is also seeking local acquisitions, according to Bilimoria, who was speaking on the sidelines of an investment seminar.
The company estimates Cobra beer's sales to be at 10 million cases by 2010. Presently, Cobra sees sales of 3 million cases.
Bilimoria says that in just a year of operations in India, Cobra has been able to capture 3 per cent of the total beer market, which he plans to double to six per cent over the next three years, which would equal around Rs400 crore in terms of revenue.
No stranger to competition, he downplayed competition from established players in India, saying that in the presence of established and ancient beer manufacturers in England, Cobra Beer was still able to do good business. Bilimoria is optimistic about repeating the same feat in India.