MC EXCLUSIVE Global beer giant Carlsberg picks Citi, JPMorgan as advisors for India IPO: Sources

Global beer giant Carlsberg picks Citi, JPMorgan as advisors for India IPO: Sources

Danish multinational brewer Carlsberg A/S has onboarded investment banks Citi and JPMorgan as advisors for its proposed India IPO, multiple industry persons in the know told Moneycontrol.

On September 16, Moneycontrol was the first to report that Carlsberg was exploring the domestic listing of its Indian arm and had invited pitches for the deal.

"Work has commenced on the deal and Citi and JPMorgan have been engaged as of now. More investment banks could join the syndicate later," said one of the persons cited above.

Two other persons confirmed the same.

All the three persons above spoke to Moneycontrol on the condition of anonymity.

In response to an email query from Moneycontrol, Carlsberg A/S said, "As a general rule, Carlsberg does not comment on rumors and speculations in the market."

Citi and JPMorgan declined to comment while an email query to Carlsberg India remained unanswered at the time of publishing this article.

Carlsberg India IPO: How is the local unit faring?

The proposed move by the Danish parent comes on the back of strong business performance, better trade working capital, and lower capital investment for Carlsberg India which registered a FY24 revenue exceeding Rs 8,000 crore with profits surging by 60% to Rs 323 crore, according to a report by PTI. "Excise duty expense" in FY24 was at Rs 4,877.8 crore, up 13.4%, the report added.

Carlsberg’s portfolio in India includes brands like Carlsberg Green, Carlsberg Elephant, Tuborg Green, Tuborg Strong and Tuborg Classic.

The firm, which has 7 operational breweries in India according to its website, competes with Kingfisher maker and listed peer United Breweries ( an arm of Dutch major Heineken ).

United Breweries has a market cap of Rs 47,776 crore ( $5.39 billion) and clocked a net profit of Rs 441.17 crore for FY24-25, with revenue at Rs 19,400 crore and excise duty expenses at Rs 10,493 crore.

The other key rival is AB InBev which backs brands like Budweiser, Corona and Hoegaarden.

Carlsberg group launched its first-ever IT Global Capability Centre (GCC) in Gurugram recently to bolster its presence in India.

The Carlsberg India Strategy

The Indian unit’s parent highlighted the former’s role in the 2024 annual report.

“India is one of the key growth markets in Accelerate SAIL. It is an exciting beer market with a positive long-term outlook, driven by increasing disposable income, urbanisation, a growing ontrade and the increasing popularity of beer. We first entered India in 2007 and have since built an attractive business. Today, we have a no. 2 market position and a market share of around 21 per cent,” the report said.

The report also mentioned the consolidation of operations involving the India and Nepal markets which was sealed last year.

What did Carlsberg's top boss say about India and value creation?

Carlsberg Group CEO Jacob Aarup Andersen made the following remarks during the firm's capital markets day held recently on October 1.

"We have seen the rumours, and we are going to keep it at that. What we can say is that we are always focused on creating value for our shareholders and, of course, that means we assess all the opportunities there are in terms of value creation. That also means that India is, of course, one of the options that we would always look at, like we would look at other large markets for opportunities to create value for our shareholders."

MNC IPOs and liquor listings

The Carlsberg IPO is yet another sign of an MNC player looking to list its domestic operations due to the attractive multiples in the Indian market. Hyundai, LG Electronics from South Korea and Norway's Orkla are prominent examples.

The last liquor IPO in India was by Monika Alcobev Limited, a maker of premium wines and spirits, which listed on the BSE SME platform in July 2025.

Prior to Monika Alcobev, key liquor mainboard IPOs in recent years include Allied Blenders and Distillers in July 2024 and Sula Vineyards in December 2022.

FAQs

How did the firm’s name originate?

The founder JC Jacobsen had a son named Carl Jacobsen and the group was named after the latter and the Danish word for hill - or 'bjerg'- on which the brewery stood.