Cobra Beer Uncorks Three-Year Exit Plan To Entice Investors. Any Takers?

May 19, 2008 | by Shrija Agrawal

Cobra Beer, the UK headquartered alcoholic beverages company founded and managed by the India-born British millionaire Karan Billimoria, may be sold lock, stock and barrel in the next three years, the UK’s Sunday Telegraph reported. This move was revealed in marketing documents of the company used to convince financial institutions to back the company. That would answer the question on exit route for private equity firms who are looking to invest in the firm.
According to the documents, a sale is expected in the next three years - a “full exit in 36 months”. And that could be a trade sale to one of the big brewers or drinks companies. The company has identified “obvious buyers” like South Africa’s SABMiller, Russia’s InBev (in which Delhi-based Sun Group is a shareholder), Molson Coors, Carlsberg and Anheuser-Busch, besides Heineken, and certain Indian-owned companies (Vijay Mallya’s Kingfisher, anyone?) also as “possible buyers”. Cobra has given the mandate to N M Rothschild and City Capital Corporation as advisors