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Cobra
Beer has been saved from collapse by the American beer giant Molson
Coors, the company behind Carling and Worthington's.
Lord Karan
Bilimoria, the entrepreneur behind Cobra, put the Indian lager group
into administration before teaming up with Molson Coors to buy the
company back via a controversial £14m 'pre-pack' deal. Molson
has put up £14m to settle with Cobra's secured creditors and now
wins control of a debt-free business that was up for sale last year
for as much as £200m. It is understood that Molson paid the
£14 million for a 50.1 per cent stake in the venture, putting
its senior executives on the board alongside Lord Bilimoria as
Chairman of the new company. However, under the "pre-pack
administration" system, unsecured creditors of Cobra will get
nothing. Cobra underlying losses for 2008 are understood to have been
€18.26 million. Cobra went into administration with debts of
around £75m.
Bedford brewer
Wells & Youngs' (W&Y), who brewed Cobra, ceased brewing the
beer in early May due to non payment and brewing is currently taking
place at Camerons Brewery in Hartlepool and at The Palm Brewery in
Belgium, but will shortly be brought into Molson Coors'
Burton-Upon-Trent plant.
Around 60 jobs
will probably go at Cobra's head office in London as the business is
integrated into Molson's UK operation. Molson Coors (UK) chief
executive Mark Hunter said: "Cobra Beer has the potential to
become a truly extraordinary brand."
The beer has large
percentage of the curry house market - but is said to have run up
huge losses after a spending a fortune in trying to break into the
pub trade and has spent £40 million on marketing over the past
20 years.
Currently Lord
Bilimoria is endeavouring to raise funds for the Indian end of the
Cobra business, which is not part of the Molson Coors deal.
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