 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Alcoholic beverage |
| Founded | 1907; 118 years ago (1907) |
| Headquarters | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
Key people | Peter Filipovic (CEO)[1] |
| Products | |
| Parent | Asahi Breweries |
| Website | cub |
Carlton & United Breweries (CUB) is an Australian brewing company based inMelbourne and owned by Japanese conglomerateAsahi Breweries. Its notable brands includeVictoria Bitter,Carlton Draught,Foster's Lager,Great Northern,Resch's,Pure Blonde andMelbourne Bitter.
CUB was established in 1904 as a merger of six existing breweries withCarl Pinschof as chairman[2] and became apublic company in 1913. It first expanded outside Victoria in 1931 and acquired a number of other brewing companies over the following decades. In 1983 it became awholly owned subsidiary ofElders IXL and CUB was delisted from the stock exchange. In 1990, Elders IXL was renamedFoster's Group, and in July 2004, Fosters Group changed its name to Carlton & United Beverages.[3][4] In February 2009, CUB announced the decision to separate the Australian Wine division from the Australian Beer, Cider & Spirits (BCS) division, and rename BCS to Carlton & United Breweries.[5]
In December 2011, American multinationalSABMiller acquired Foster's Group, and took over ownership of Carlton & United Breweries as part of the acquisition.[6]Subsequently, in October 2016, CUB was included in the purchase of SABMiller byAnheuser-Busch InBev.[7] SABMiller ceased trading on global stock markets[8][9] and as a result, Carlton & United was then owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev.[10]
In July 2019, Asahi Breweries agreed to purchase CUB, with theAustralian Competition & Consumer Commission andForeign Investment Review Board approving the deal in May 2020.[11][12]
Carlton and United Breweries was formed in 1904 with the merger of six major Australian breweries: Carlton Brewery,Castlemaine Brewery Company (Melbourne), Foster Brewing Company,McCracken's City Brewery, Shamrock Brewing and Malting Company and Victoria Brewery. The six breweries - along with another two (Melbourne Brewery and Distillery Pty Ltd and Coghlan and Tulloch'sBallarat Brewing Co Ltd) - had formed a cartel known as the Society of Melbourne Brewers in 1903.Emil Resch played a significant role in enabling the amalgamation. Resch also went on to become the first general manager of CUB.[13][14][15][16] The company became public in 1913 with the issue of 100,000 shares.
Over time it has bought out many other brewers, such as Abbotsford Co-operative Brewery in 1924 (a company set up by independent hoteliers to combat the anti-competitive nature of the Society of Melbourne Brewers.) Their first interstate acquisition wasNorthern Australian Breweries and theCairns Brewery in 1931. Further acquisitions were theBallarat Brewing Company,Queensland Brewery Ltd, Thos McLauchlin & Co Pty Ltd, Richmond Brewery andTooth & Co.
In 1983, CUB was wholly bought byElders IXL, a giant Australian diversified conglomerate with pastoral, financial, materials, and food interests. Elders Brewing Group (as it then became known as) continued to acquire brewing companies in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States. In 1990 Elders Brewing Group changed its name to Foster's Group, to reflect the name of their most internationally recognised product.
In 1985, CUB purchased theTooth and Co. site onBroadway in Sydney. The company demolished all of the existingKent Brewery buildings on this site, except for one. CUB Management decided to close the Broadway site in 2003, with one of the reasons given being that it was a "large island of industry stranded in Sydney's central residential revival" that was happening in nearbyChippendale. In 2007, the site was sold and redeveloped into a commercial complex containing office blocks, shopping centre, and a boutique hotel known as The Old Clare Hotel.[17]
In July 2004, Carlton & United Breweries changed its name to Carlton & United Beverages (retaining CUB acronym), citing the company's diversification into pre-mixed drinks, juices, ciders and non-alcoholic drinks.[4][18]
In February 2009, Foster's announced the outcomes of a review of its global wine business, including the decision to separate the Australian Wine division from the Australian Beer, Cider & Spirits (BCS) division, and rename BCS to Carlton & United Breweries.[5]
In mid-June 2016 CUB made the controversial decision to lay off 55 workers (mostly electricians and fitters) before inviting those same workers to reapply for their old jobs on individual contracts involving stripped conditions, clauses and significant pay cuts (the workers are suggesting[when?] a 65 per cent wage cut once penalty rates and other entitlements are factored in).[19]
SABMiller, CUB's global owner, responded to criticisms from the union movement that its action was not illegal as it has no direct contractual relationship with the maintenance crews that were laid off. Rather, it has a contractual relationship with one subcontractor and the action constitutes the "passing" of a contract to another, which has the prerogative to set pay and conditions of workers at its own discretion. SABMiller have made no comment regarding the lower pay and poorer conditions offered to workers.
The decision generated considerable poor publicity for CUB, with a widespread social media campaign as well as union efforts to highlight the workers' plight, who argue the brewer has conducted a "transmission of business"[20] manoeuvre. Several pubs in Victoria have stopped selling CUB products in support of the sacked workers.[21]
In July 2019,Asahi Breweries agreed terms to purchase Carlton & United Breweries with the transaction completed in May 2020 after being cleared by theAustralian Competition & Consumer Commission andForeign Investment Review Board.[22][23]
In 2020 Asahi Beverages has announced that it will combine its two alcohol businesses Carlton & United Breweries (CUB) and Asahi Premium Beverages to form Carlton Premium Beverages.[24][25][26][27][28]
After the takeovers by SABMiller and thenAnheuser-Busch InBev, CUB distributed their international brands such asAguila,Corona Extra,Stella Artois,Beck's,Budweiser,Hoegaarden,Leffe and Leffe Radieuse.[29]
| Spirits[31] | ABV |
|---|---|
| Akropolis Ouzo | 37% |
| The Black Douglas | 40% |
| Cougar Bourbon | 37% |
| Mist Wood Gin | 37% |
| Nikka Whisky | 37% |
| Spicebox Whisky | 37% |
| Tequila Blu | 37% |
| Untold Spiced Rum | 37% |
| Vodka Cruiser | 37% |
| Vodka O | 37% |
| Woodstock Bourbon | 37% |
The company was formerly known as South African Breweries plc and changed its name to SABMiller plc in July 2002.
SABMiller ceased trading on global stock markets last week
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