The Carlsberg Group is a brewing company founded in 1847 by J. C. Jacobsen. The company's first headquarters were located in Copenhagen, Denmark. Since Jacobsen's death in 1887, the majority owner of the company has been the Carlsberg Foundation. The company's flagship brand is Carlsberg Beer (named after Jacobsen's son Carl) but it also brews Tuborg, Kronenbourg, Somersby cider, Russia's best-selling beer Baltika, Belgian Grimbergen abbey beers, and more than 500 local beers.

After merging with the brewery assets of Norwegian conglomerate Orkla ASA in January 2001, Carlsberg became the fifth largest brewery group in the world. After a failed takeover attempt by Orkla, Carlsberg became the sole owner after purchasing Orkla's share in the brewery in 2004. It is the leading beer seller in Russia with about a 40 percent share of the market. In 2009 Carlsberg ranked fourth worldwide, and employed around 45,000 people