In the year ended 31 December 2003, EBI's net sales on a consolidated basis were US$264.1m, representing an increase of around 65 per cent on the previous year.
EBI, an 85 per cent Dutch-based subsidiary of Turkey's leading brewer Anadolu Efes, is part of the Efes Beverage Group (EBG), and has extended its brewing interests in recent years. The company now has nine international breweries across Southeastern Europe, the CIS countries, Russia and Central Asia.
The flotation will take the form of new shares by EBI, and existing shares held by selling shareholders. These will be offered in the form of Global Depositary Receipts to institutional investors in the UK and internationally.
Anadolu Efes came into being in 2000 through a merger of four Turkish breweries as part of a restructuring process. This enabled the single entity to compete with international players financially, and it is now the major shareholder of EBG investments in international beer and Coca-Cola distribution.
EBG obtained its International Coca-Cola operations licence in 1993 through Efes Invest, and is now a large seller of its core brands in Central Asia.