Heineken NV has announced its intention to acquire South African companies Distell Group Holdings and Namibia Breweries Ltd to form a Southern African beverage group. The new entity majority-owned by the Dutch brewer will have a total valuation of around 4 billion euros (4.6 billion dollars).
In a statement issued on Monday, November 15, Heineken said the purchase is expected to boost the group’s profits in the first year.
“We are very pleased to bring together three strong companies to create a regional beverage champion, perfectly positioned to seize important growth opportunities in Southern Africa,” Van den Brink, CEO of Heineken, said in the statement.
The purchase would be the first for Dolf van den Brink, who took over as Heineken in June 2020 and launched a plan to restore profit margins, in part by cutting 8,000 jobs.
As a reminder, Distell’s deal negotiations with Heineken, the world’s second largest beer maker, were first announced last May.
