It must have been a cocktail even too bitter for Campari. On 31 October, Italy’s near-almighty Guardia di Finanza – the financial police – executed a seizure order for shares of Davide Campari Milano worth nearly EUR 1.3 billion (USD 1.5 billion). The seized amount represents about 17 percent of Campari’s ordinary shares. They belonged to Lagfin, a Luxembourg-based holding company controlled by the Garavoglia family, which has owned the Campari empire for generations. The charge centres on allegations that Lagfin had failed to pay exit tax on a 2019 corporate merger. That year, the Campari group merged its original holding company Alicros from near Milan into Lagfin. Investigators determined that Lagfin had generated unrealized capital gains exceeding EUR 5.3 billion, none of which had been declared for exit-tax purposes. If proven true, the tax bill could be one of the largest tax-evasion cases in Italy’s judicial history.
But first prosecutors need to prove that Lagfin’s tax advisers had been excessively creative in using artificial means, fictitious transactions, or other manipulations to “optimise” tax payments. Lagfin denies any wrongdoing.
In the coming months, fat cat lawyers will slug it out in a legal battle. The defence will certainly argue that the transaction was based on a correct interpretation of the rules, supported by opinions from tax advisers. It can’t be ruled out, however, that both parties will opt for a settlement, which could reduce the amount paid (estimates put it at 25 percent to 40 percent of the initial amount). In Lagfin’s case, this may seem an attractive option.
Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, has acquired through its subsidiary Sberbank Investments a 9.1 percent stake in Bochkarev Breweries, previously known as United Breweries (OPH), which itself was the renamed Russian unit of Heineken. As of 1 November, Bochkarev Breweries is the new name of Russia’s third-largest brewery. The Russian news site Kommersant reported on 30 October that local observers value the investment between RUB 1.3 billion and RUB 1.7 billion (USD 21 million). As Sberbank is Bochkarev’s major creditor, the transfer of the stake allows Bochkarev to raise capital without increasing its debt burden. Observers believe that Sberbank bought the stake at a significant discount and will seek a profitable exit after two to five years. Russia history buffs will remember that the Bochkarev beer brand was invented by Bravo International, an Icelandic-owned brewery in St Petersburg in the late 1990s, before it was acquired by Heineken in 2002.
Is this a sign of worse things to come for the Russian economy? Off-premise beer sales in the first nine months of 2025 have declined by 16.9 percent over the same period in 2024. The collapse in demand is explained by the cold summer and rising prices. However, the drop in sales is seen in almost all key alcohol categories, including wine and vodka. Retail beer sales in the third quarter amounted to 17 million hl, down nearly 18 percent year-on-year. For the January-September period, the decline was 16.9 percent, to 46 million hl. The change in consumption patterns was a major factor in the decline, officials said. Rising prices may also be holding back beer sales. A litre of beer currently costs an average of RUB 196 (USD 2.42), compared with RUB 160 (USD 1.98) in January 2024.
Heineken will end its three-decade-long run as the official beer sponsor of the UEFA Champions League in August 2027. The decision follows what the group described (30 October) as a “strategic review” of its sponsorship portfolio. The company cited a sharper focus on investments that deliver “spend proportionate to value creation” and measurable returns on investment. Heineken first sponsored the tournament in 1994 with the Amstel brand before switching to its flagship namesake beer in 2005. The announcement came one day after UC3, the joint venture between UEFA and Europe’s leading clubs, confirmed that exclusive talks with rival AB-InBev will begin for a six-year deal starting in 2027. Heineken has nearly two years remaining on its EUR 120 million-per-annum deal. AB-InBev has reportedly offered EUR 200 million (USD 232 million) per season.
Heineken warns of more brewery closures and potential market exits. The Dutch brewer notified on 22 October that its 2025 beer sales would fall as macroeconomic challenges worsened, further downgrading its volume guidance from the previous quarter. The company reported a 0.3 percent organic decline in third-quarter 2025 net revenues. Its 4.3 percent organic beer volume decline was broadly in line with forecasts. Volume sales are down 2.3 percent year-to-date. The world’s number two brewer and its competitors have been battling to restore lacklustre volume growth for years. While they have largely been able to offset sales declines with price increases, investors are increasingly focused on the amount of beer sold, Reuters said.
The brewer also unveiled a new five-year plan. CEO Dolf van den Brink shared that the brewer will focus investment on 17 key markets, including Mexico, Malaysia, Spain and the UK, and its five flagship global brands: Heineken, Tiger, Amstel, Desperados and Birra Moretti. The company will also nurture 25 strong local labels, while considering divestment from underperforming markets. Heineken did not specify which markets it might exit – only saying there were “more than ten” -, but that some or all of these may be able to rectify underperformance before it came to that. CEO Van den Brink hinted at more brewery closures in Europe as he looks to cut costs.
Also in October, Heineken’s Grupa Żywiec unit in Poland announced it would cease production at the historic Namysłów brewery in early 2026. Citing a “declining beer category” in the country along with “growing costs and taxes”, the subsidiary said that some 100 employees will receive a “full severance package and additional support”. The brewery closure coincides with the fact that beer consumption has dropped over the past five years: from 39.7 million hl of beer in 2019 to 34.6 million hl in 2024. Poland is the EU’s third largest beer market, behind Germany and Spain.
The division will continue producing its brands at its three other breweries in the country (Żywiec, Warka and Elbląg). Żywiec acquired the Namysłów brewery with an annual capacity of 1.7 million hl beer in 2018 for USD 132 million. The brewery is located in a castle with brewing traditions dating back to 1321. In 2023 already, Heineken closed its brewery in Leżajsk. Eventually, the plant was bought by Mycofeast, headquartered in the UK, which uses it to manufacture proteins and lipids for food production.
Polish employees at Heineken’s Krakow shared services centre are not alone in worrying about their jobs. On 14 October, the Dutch brewer announced a reorganisation at its Amsterdam headquarters, which will affect approximately 400 jobs. Starting in 2026, the changes are part of “broader initiatives to create a more agile, simpler, and better-connected organisation focused on growth and innovation,” the company said. According to a spokesperson, 1,750 people work at Heineken’s headquarters. Some roles will be shifted abroad, while others will be cut entirely. The move is intended to speed up the growth of Heineken Business Services. In May, the company revealed plans to expand the division with a new service centre in Hyderabad, India.
Molson Coors will axe 400 jobs across the Americas, or about 9 percent of its workforce, across Canada, the United States and Latin America by the end of December. The company did not give a breakdown by country or province. A spokesperson said that the restructuring had nothing to do with the US trade war. Molson Coors expects to incur charges between USD 35 million and USD 50 million, primarily from cash severance payments and post-employment benefits.
Japan’s Kirin Holdings is reportedly looking to sell its Four Roses bourbon brand for around USD 1 billion, the Financial Times newspaper reported and added that “first-round bids” may arrive as soon as November. Four Roses, which is produced in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, was acquired by Kirin in 2002, mainly to cater to demand in Japan. According to Kirin’s financial results for the first half of 2025, Four Roses had approximately USD 79.9 million in sales, a dip of 0.2 percent year-on-year. The group’s total alcoholic beverages division saw its revenue decline by 19.9 percent in the first six months of the year. Many commentators argue that Four Roses’ rumoured price tag seem far too high.
AB-InBev announces USD 6 billion buyback over two years as beer volumes decline. On 30 October it reported a 3.3 percent rise in underlying operating profit in the third quarter 2025, but it was still the lowest quarterly profit growth since 2021 for the maker of Stella Artois and Corona. Organic volumes slipped 3.7 percent, with beer volumes down by 3.9 percent, as they were dragged down by weak demand in China and poor weather in Brazil. Analysts from Bloomberg Intelligence said AB InBev’s strong cash generation is fuelling the buyback, but it is also concealing another year of soft underlying performance as consumers pull back from higher-priced premium brands. The company may still hit its earnings target for the year through pricing power, though continued volume declines could remain a headwind.
Carlsberg is weighed down by weak consumer spending, reportinga decline in underlying sales and volumes for the third quarter 2025 from a year earlier. The Danish brewer posted a 1.4 percent drop in organic sales – excluding acquisitions – and a 3 percent decline in organic volumes. Total sales in the third quarter rose 18 percent to DKK 24.14 billion (USD 3.77 billion). But the sales growth was attributed to the acquisition of British soft drinks maker Britvic in January.
Boston Beer had a rough third quarter 2025, with financial results for the third quarter ending 27 September 2025 showing shipments of 1.9 million barrels, down by 13.7 percent and depletions down by 3.0 percent. Net revenue of USD 537.5 million decreased 11.2 percent year-on-year. The wide discrepancy between depletions (from distributor to consumers) and shipments (from producer to distributor) will help the company reset distributor inventories. The company said that distributor inventory was at “appropriate levels and averaged approximately four- and one-half weeks, which is within our target wholesaler inventory levels of four to five weeks.” The company expects both depletions and shipments to be down mid-single digit for the full year 2025.
More trouble for BrewDog. It announced job cuts across the business. The news of redundancies came after BrewDog posted a GBP 37 million (USD 50 million) pre-tax loss in 2024. This marks the fifth successive year the company has been in the red. The latest figures contribute to a cumulative pre-tax loss of GBP 148 million since its last profitable year in 2019. The website Scottish Financial News reported (2 October) that the financial strain has prompted the firm to take on further debt, including an additional GBP 20 million loan from its main shareholder, TSG Consumer Partners. The company has also been servicing loans with interest rates as high as 18 percent, which has seen its annual interest payments climb by GBP 4 million to GBP 17.3 million (USD 23.5 million).
Earlier that month, BrewDog sold its Lost Forest after 250,000 trees had died. It had bought therewilding estate, dubbed The Lost Forest, in Kinrara near Aviemore in the Highlands in 2020 for GBP 8.8 million (USD 11.6 million). It pledged it would plant millions of trees on 50 sq km of land. The firm has since had to retract many of its original claims, admitting the estate was smaller, at 37 sq km, and the tree-planting area smaller still. It would never have soaked up the 550,000 tonnes of CO2 every year that it originally claimed, but a maximum of 1 million tonnes in 100 years, The Guardian newspaper reported.
The rumour is exciting cricket-mad India. Diageo is reportedly considering the sale of its Indian Premier League (IPL) team, Royal Challengers Bangalore, in a deal that could fetch up to USD 2 billion. The move comes as the world’s major drinks group looks to strengthen its balance sheet by divesting non-core assets. No doubt, the cricket club, named after the Indian whisky brand Royal Challenger, is exquisitely non-core. Having won the prestigious IPL crown earlier this year, Royal Challengers Bangalore’s value must have received a boost. The Royal Challenger brand is not Diageo’s prime local brand, and a decision to sell may have been influenced by the Indian government’s plans to further tighten the ban on alcohol advertising in sports.
Too much stock? Diageo has temporarily ceased whiskey production at its Balcones and George Dickel distilleries in the US as it re-evaluates its “productivity goals”. Distilling and barrel-filling operations at Balcones distillery in Waco, Texas, were halted in August. Meanwhile, the Cascade Hollow distillery at Diageo’s Tullahoma facility in Tennessee, which produces George Dickel whiskey, has also been shut down for the time being. As well as pausing production at distilleries Roe & Co in Dublin, Balcones and George Dickel in the US, Diageo also confirmed production has halted at its Scottish distillery Teaninich. The Speyside site is the only Scotch whisky distillery in Diageo’s portfolio to be affected by the company’s production slowdown.
The temporary shutdowns are probably part of a wider effort to cut costs. In January, Diageo announced its decision to consolidate its bottling operations at Stitzel-Weller with other Diageo-owned facilities in Shelbyville and Lebanon, Kentucky, “as part of a broader multi-year programme to strengthen Diageo’s supply chain by improving productivity, resilience, and agility”. In August, it confirmed its Crown Royal bottling operation in Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada, would close by February 2026.