Colombia: Colombian brewer Bavaria will take direct control of Compania Boliviana de Bebidas, which it already controls indirectly via its Peruvian subsidiary Cervecerias Peruanas Backus y Johnston, Bavaria said on Tuesday, Sept 14, according to Reuters. “We simply want the head office to have more direct control over the operation in Bolivia. We're going to make a bit more of an effort in marketing and publicity to beef up that operation," a Bavaria official said.

Bavaria plans to spend about $4 million on marketing and refrigeration units for Compania Boliviana de Bebidas, which produces non-alcoholic drinks and shares rights to PepsiCo Inc (PEP.N: Quote, Profile, Research) products in Bolivia, the official said.

Bavaria, controlled by Colombian businessman Julio Mario Santo Domingo, has recently bought breweries in Panama and Peru and has consolidated its brewing in Ecuador. It also has operations in Costa Rica.

15 September, 2004