Global Beer Georgia (GBG), a subsidiary of JSC Teliani Valley, one of Georgia’s leading wine producers is receiving a €18.5 million syndicated loan arranged from European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to construct a greenfield-brewery in the Caucasian country. The syndicated financing package consists of an A loan of €6.2 million for the EBRD’s own account and a B loan of €6.2 million provided by the Dutch development bank FMO, while the German development bank DEG will act as a parallel lender providing another €6.2 million.
Teliani Valley currently imports Heineken and Krusovice beer to Georgia but intends to produce those brands in the future locally as well as Heineken’s Amstel. Global Beer Georgia will be the exclusive producer of these three beer brands in Georgia. Moreover, it will also sell the brands in Azerbaijan and Armenia.
“Georgia is famous for its wines, but good quality beer is also very popular. By starting the production of well-known brands locally, Teliani Valley will not only bring new technologies and raise production standards, but also will create local jobs and create competition in the beer sector that will result in improved price and quality. Supporting the development of the Agribusiness sector in Georgia is one of the Bank’s top strategic priorities”, Gilles Mettetal, EBRD Director for Agribusiness says.
Georgia’s beer market has suffered from a significant increase in excise tax by 50% on 1 March 2015, which made sales decline by 9% in 2015. Market leader in Georgia with a share of 49% of the beer market is local producer Lomisi producing the brand Lomisi’s Natakhtari, followed by Kartuli Ludis with a share of 25% and its main brand Kartuli Ludis’s Zedazeni. The two breweries also produce several international brands under licence, such as Kozel and König Pilsener.
