CORPORATE LEGAL PRACTICE

Carlsberg wins international arbitration case against India JV partner

Carlsberg said it had won an arbitration case that was filed by CSAPL (Singapore) Holdings Pte Ltd (CSAPLH) over the alleged breaches of the shareholder’s agreement and governance matters. CSAPLH is the Nepal-based holding firm of the Khetan Group.

Danish brewing major Carlsberg on August 17 said it had won an arbitration case that was filed by CSAPL (Singapore) Holdings Pte Ltd (CSAPLH) over the alleged breaches of the shareholder’s agreement and governance matters.

In an earnings statement, the company said, “A liability award was issued by the arbitration tribunal on 4 May 2022. Carlsberg considers its position to be entirely vindicated by the liability award and is very satisfied with this outcome.”

  • According to Carlsberg, the Singapore tribunal did not grant CSAPLH the relief it had been seeking based on the various allegations relating to governance and breach of the shareholder’s agreement raised in the arbitration and publicly.
  • “The tribunal found CSAPLH to be in incurable material breach of the shareholder’s agreement. As a remedy for the material breaches committed by CSAPLH, the arbitration tribunal awarded Carlsberg the right to call CSAPLH’s shares in CSAPL,” the company said.
  • Carlsberg immediately invoked its right to begin the call process, and CSAPLH subsequently exercised its put option under the shareholder’s agreement, it said.
    CSAPLH is Nepal-based holding firm of the Khetan Group. CSAPLH is controlled by Singapore resident C.P. Khetan, who holds 33.3 percent of the shares in CSAPL. CSAPL is the holding company for the businesses in India (100 percent) and Nepal (90 percent).
  • Further, it said the disagreements concerned CSAPLH’s numerous allegations against the Copenhagen-based brewer of alleged breaches of the shareholder’s agreement and governance matters.
  • “Carlsberg was of the view that it had not committed any breach, but rather that CSAPLH had breached the Shareholder’s Agreement. At the request of CSAPLH, the disagreements were referred to arbitration in Singapore,” it said.
  • “As previously disclosed, in January 2022 CSAPLH was ordered to repay in full a loan that Carlsberg had called in in connection with the dispute between the parties pertaining to the business in Nepal. The loan remains outstanding. Some amounts have been collected via legal actions in Singapore,” it added.

Carlsberg Group commenced operations in India in 2007, starting production at a brewery in Paonta Sahib, Himachal Pradesh. Over the years, Carlsberg India has successfully expanded its operations and has seven operational breweries across India.

Source : CNBCTV18

Print Friendly, PDF & Email