Heineken history

1870: Jonkheer C.A. de Pesters and J.H. van Marwijk Kooy establish Amstel Brewery.

1873: Heineken incorporates his company as Heineken's Bierbrouwerij Maatschappij N.V.

His business continued to grow rapidly, and after six more years, in 1874, he purchased a Rotterdam brewery to add to his operation.

1876: Company begins exporting, with regular shipments to France.

In 1879 Heineken hired Doctor Elion, a former student of Louis Pasteur, to research yeast.

After chemist and Louis Pasteur student Doctor H. Elion isolated the A-yeast strain in a company laboratory in 1886, Heineken A-yeast became a base for this ultimate beer, and nothing has changed until today.

1914: Doctor H.P. Heineken, son of the founder, takes control of the company.

In the past 5 years, the revenue doubled and the EBIT tripled, total assets also grew from €825 million to €1919 million.

Van Munching distributed Heineken beer to the finer restaurants, taverns, and hotels in the New York area until Prohibition forced him to stop in 1920.

It started bottling the whole beer production in its brewery in 1929.

1931: Company enters into its first joint brewing venture, Malayan Breweries.

1933: Heineken is the first beer imported into the United States following the repeal of Prohibition.

When he returned in 1945, he formed Van Munching and Company, Inc. and established a nationwide distribution system to expand the beer's market beyond the New York area.

His return to Holland in 1948 marked the beginning of a new era in the company's marketing strategy.

Heineken Holding NV is a company founded in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on March 27, 1952.

1968: Heineken acquires Amstel.

1970: Company acquires the James J. Murphy brewery and its Murphy's Irish Stout brand; beer volume reaches 11.3 million hectoliters.

In 1971 Heineken purchased the Bokma distillery.

1980: Amstel Light makes its debut.

In 1982 two unsuccessful blackmail attempts were made against the brewery, followed the next year by an extortion attempt.

The situation was considered so bleak that in 1986 the company and its French partner cut 500 jobs and closed down three breweries and a bottling plant in France, offering displaced employees retraining and outplacement.

The original brewery was active for more than a century and produced beer until 1988.

United States sales represented just 2.6 percent of the company's total, but contributed 23 percent of the company's US$435 million in pretax profits in 1991; a 24-bottle case of Heineken sold on average for about 50 percent more than a case of the domestic favorite Budweiser.

In accordance with this trend, Heineken announced in 1992 that it had signed a joint agreement to become the first foreign beer producer in Vietnam.

Karel Vuursteen became Heineken's chairman in 1993 and continued to expand the company's international presence focusing on Latin America, the Far East, Scandinavia, and Middle Europe.

Also in 1996, the company withdrew from its Myanmar venture, concerned about the human rights situation there and the impact its presence there might have on the company's reputation.

Also in 1998 Heineken gained a 25 percent stake in Pivara Skopje A.D., the leading beer maker in Macedonia with a market share of 70 percent.

In June 1999 Heineken reached an agreement to acquire Grupo Cruzcampo S.A., Spain's largest brewer, from Diageo plc.

Spanish regulators, concerned about the purchase because of Heineken's majority stake in El Aguila, forced the company to cut about one-sixth of its Spanish production and storage facilities before the deal was consummated in January 2000.

Heineken introduced this light beer to the US market in 2005.

The revenue welcomes a peak at 2006, and has a moderate float in the rest of 5 years.

In 2008, it fell by a small amount to €304 million.

In 2009, the revenue was €1566 million while the EBIT was only €210 million.

On January 12, 2010, Heineken International successfully bought the brewery division of Mexican giant FEMSA, and also merged with the company, expanding its reach throughout Latin America.

Among other activities, the company has been the UEFA Champions League sponsor since 1994. It was also the official beer of Major League Soccer in 2014.

Three years later, Heineken acquired the brewery part of Mexican FEMSA. Finally, it bought Lagunitas Brewing Company from California and the Brazilian Kirin Company in 2017.