Danish brewing group founded in Copenhagen in 1847, holding a majority economic interest in Portugal’s Super Bock Group: 44% directly plus 28.5% of the Viacer holding, for combined ownership of about 60% of the Leça do Balio-based brewer.
Quick answer
Who owns Super Bock? Viacer, a Portuguese holding company controlled by the Violas family, owns 56% of Super Bock Group and Denmark’s Carlsberg owns 44%. Because Carlsberg also bought 28.5% of Viacer in December 2018, its direct and indirect stake is about 60%, but Super Bock remains an associate rather than a Carlsberg subsidiary, according to Carlsberg’s 2025 annual report and ECO.
Carlsberg has been a shareholder of Super Bock Group (formerly Unicer) for decades, holding 44% of the Portuguese brewer directly. In December 2018 the Copenhagen group acquired 28.5% of Viacer — the holding company that owns the controlling 56% of Super Bock Group — lifting Carlsberg’s combined direct and indirect ownership to roughly 60%. The remainder of Viacer is held by Portuguese investors.
Super Bock Group brews at Leça do Balio in Matosinhos and is Portugal’s largest beer exporter, with a portfolio spanning the Super Bock beer family and mineral-water brands. For Carlsberg, the position is one of its principal Western European interests outside its wholly-owned markets; for Portugal, it ties the country’s biggest brewer into a Danish group with global distribution.
The Carlsberg–Super Bock relationship is one of the oldest and largest Danish industrial positions in Portugal, anchoring the corridor’s beverage lane: Danish capital and brewing know-how behind Portugal’s leading beer group, with commercial ties running in both directions.
Status: Compiled from public sources · Last verified: · Update this profile
Work at Carlsberg? Send corrections or additions. Every update is checked before it is published; submissions are reviewed within a few working days.
Fractio helps Nordic companies enter and grow in Portugal — with local presence, without the overhead.
Talk to Fractio →