The creation of big business in the Swedish brewing industry during the aftermath of the Second World War

Before the First World War, the Swedish brewing industry was organised into cartels that fixed prices and established distribution areas. During the inter-war years, the major combines in the three biggest cities strengthened their position, since they controlled the market in the most populated areas. Because of the agreements within the brewing cartel Bryggeriidkareforbundet, there was hardly any competition among the breweries and the only way to expand the business was to buy cartel-associated smaller breweries in the fixed 'natural distribution area'. When the cartel ceased to exist in the mid 1950s, the agreements among AB Stockholms Bryggerier in Stockholm (StB), AB Pripp & Lyckholm in Goteborg (P&L) and AB Malmo Forenade Bryggerier in Malmo (MfB) were informally maintained. They managed to expand in their old distribution areas and beyond, but there was no interference in each other's home market. This article examines why and how these agreements finally came to an end and the effects of the increased competition. The so-called 'beer war' between StB and P&L during the early sixties paved the way for negotiations, which in the end led to a merger of the breweries and a new big combine - Pripps - was created. We take up questions related to the formation of the company, its market expansion, the diversification and other organisational strategies. Pripps's monopolistic position on the Swedish market and the institutional pressure that followed started a process leading in the end to a reorganisation and a holding company, PRIBO, was formed in the early 1970s. A few years later the majority of PRIBO's brewing division (Pripps) was bought by the Swedish state and the rest of PRIBO was sold to one of the upcoming holding companies in Sweden during that time - Beijer Invest.