BY Richard Summerfield
Dutch brewer Heineken has agreed a deal to acquire South Africa’s Distell Group Holdings and Namibia Breweries Ltd (NBL) to form a southern Africa drinks group worth $4.6bn.
Heineken will pay around 40.1bn rand or $2.62bn for Distell. Finalisation of the deal, expected in 2022, is subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals. Upon completion, Heineken will contribute the acquired Distell assets plus its 75 percent directly-owned shareholding in Heineken South Africa and other fully-owned export operations in Africa, into an unlisted public holding company. Heineken will own a minimum of 65 percent of the new company, with the remainder held by Distell shareholders who elect to reinvest.
“We are very excited to bring together three strong businesses to create a regional beverage champion, perfectly positioned to capture significant growth opportunities in Southern Africa,” said Dolf van den Brink, chairman of the executive board and chief executive of Heineken. “Distell is a highly regarded, resilient business with leading brands, a talented workforce and a strong track record of innovation and growth in Africa. With NBL, there are exciting opportunities to expand premium beer and cider in Namibia and grow the iconic Windhoek brand beyond its home market.
“Together we will be able to better serve our consumers and customers through a unique combination of multi-category leading brands and a strengthened route-to-market,” he continued. “The businesses share common values derived from their family heritage, long-term perspectives, entrepreneurial spirit, and care for people and planet.”
“Together, this partnership has the potential to leverage the strength of Heineken’s global footprint with our leading brands to create a formidable, diverse beverage company for Africa,” said Richard Rushton, chief executive of Distell. “I am excited for what lies ahead as we look to combine our strong and popular brands and highly complementary geographical footprints to create a world class African company in the alcohol beverage sector. Our combined entity will grow our local expertise and insights to better serve consumers across the region.”
“What we have achieved with NBL is truly amazing, but the time has come to unleash its full potential, by giving NBL access to the world,” said Sven Thieme, chief executive of NBL. “Having worked with Heineken for many years and knowing that they too are passionate about beer and share similar family values and culture to that of O&L, we are confident that Heineken is best placed to do just that.”
The deal is the first since Mr van den Brink took charge at Heineken in June 2020. The company has announced plans to restore profit margins, partly through terminating 8000 jobs.
News: Heineken to buy S.Africa's Distell and Namibian Breweries