India brewer's fate in balance

CONTROL of United Breweries, India's largest brewer, is in the balance after the agreed £7.8 billion bid for Scottish & Newcastle by Carlsberg and Heineken.

S&N owns 37.49 per cent of UB, which accounts for almost half of Indian beer sales and is best known as the maker of Kingfisher.

Indian regulators have now warned that the change in ownership of the stake to Heineken could trigger an obligatory open offer for the remainder of the company.