Nigerian Breweries Plc Shareholders Finally Approve the Acquisition of an 80% Stake in Distell

Nigerian Breweries Plc Shareholders have approved the firm's acquisition of an 80% stake in Distell Wines and Spirits Nigeria Limited (Distell Nigeria) and the import business of Heineken Beverages (Holdings) Limited (Heineken Beverages).

The shareholders approved the acquisition at the company’s Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held on Wednesday, December 20, 2023, at the Oriental Hotel, Lagos.

After the approval, the board is now mandated to proceed to conclude the transaction that will give Nigerian Breweries Plc the majority stake in Distell Nigeria and also the exclusive right to market, import, and distribute in Nigeria Heineken Beverages’ wines, spirits, and cider brands from South Africa, including the right to produce any of the imported brands locally.

In the Extraordinary General Meeting, Asue Ighodalo, the Board Chairman, said that the acquisition aligns with the company’s vision to become a Total Beverage Company by adding wines and spirits to the product portfolio to cater to its diverse consumer needs.

Ighodalo said,

This acquisition is part of efforts to provide access to a complementary multi-category portfolio of fast-growing brands in the wine and spirits market segment and capture significant growth opportunities in the wine and spirits segment of the brewing industry.

Uaboi Agbebaku, the Company Secretary and Legal Director of Nigerian Breweries Plc added that the consideration for the acquisition approved by the shareholders is about N7 billion and that the company had earlier received a confirmation from the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission that the transaction will be treated as internal restructuring. This means that no further regulatory approval process will be required.  

We earlier reported the plans for the acquisition.

What the Nigerian Breweries Plc Said Earlier On

Nigerian Breweries Plc has announced its plans to acquire two subsidiaries of Heineken worth a value of about N7.01 billion to strengthen the operations of Heineken and its subsidiaries in Nigeria.

• It provides Nigerian Breweries with a complimentary multi-category portfolio. It strengthens the company’s market share in the broader beverage market by expanding its product offerings to a broader consumer segment.

• It enhances Nigerian Breweries’ long-term profitability by adding new product categories, such as wines, spirits, and flavoured beverages, projected to grow faster than the lager, malt, and stout types.

• It would accelerate the growth of DWSN’s portfolio through Nigerian Breweries’ broad and strong route-to-market capabilities.

• Migrating part of the imported portfolio to local production on the Nigerian Breweries’ platform presents an opportunity for expedited volume growth and growing the local production of wines and spirits.