The brewing traditions of Saku Brewery reach back to the beginning of the 19th century. Then the Saku estate was owned by count Karl Friedrich Rehbinder who built a distillery and a brewery on his estate. The brewery was first documented in October 1820. It is believed that the production of beer, for the purpose of sale to pubs and taverns begun during the autumn of that year. From the end of 19th century onward Saku has remained among the leading breweries in Estonia. In 1991 joint venture Saku Õlletehas was established. Since January 27, 1998 the shares of Saku Brewery were traded in the list on the Tallinn Stock Exchange. On September 20, 2008, the shares of Saku Õlletehase AS were delisted from Tallinn Stock Exchange. Today 100% of the shares are owned by Carlsberg Breweries. Through large investments, Saku Brewery has become the market leader on the Estonian beer market. According to market research by ACNielsen in March 2009, Saku Brewery held 38,7% of the local market share. The total sales of beer by Saku amounted to 59 million litres in 2007. Beverages of Saku Brewery are exported amongst other countries to Sweden (the only Estonian beer in the Systembolaget is Saku Kuld), Finland, Netherlands, England, Germany, Ireland and Canada. Saku's exports during the first five months of 2009 amounted to 3,12 million litres.