Baltic Beverages Holding's (BBH) Baltika Brewery in St. Petersburg, Russia, has acquired a 60 per cent holding in the Donskoye Pivo plc. brewery, located in the city of Rostov-on-Don. The brewery was established in 1974 and has an annual brewing capacity of some 72 million litres of beer. The Donskoye Pivo brewery is one of the biggest in Southern Russia and employs about 300 people.

An investment programme will be implemented at the brewery to enhance its products and production technology to the international level as well as to strengthen its market position. The aim is to increase the brewery's sales and to become the market leader in the Southern Russia region. More than 20 million inhabitants live in the vicinity of the brewery.

BBH is owned in equal part by Orkla's beverage company Pripps Ringnes and Finland's Hartwall brewing group. After the present acquisition, the BBH Group comprises three breweries in the Baltic States, four breweries in Russia and one brewery in the Ukraine. Sales in 1997 total around 600 million litres.

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