Heineken N.V. announces restructuring of South African and Namibian operations
(Thomson Reuters ONE) -
Amsterdam, 28 July 2015 - Heineken N.V. (EURONEXT: HEIA; OTCQX: HEINY) today
announces that HEINEKEN, Diageo plc and The Ohlthaver & List ('O&L') Group of
Companies, the majority shareholder of Namibia Breweries Limited ('NBL'), have
agreed to restructure their respective joint venture operations in South Africa
and Namibia.
South Africa
brandhouse Beverages (Pty) Ltd ('brandhouse') is a 50/50 distribution and cost
sharing joint venture between Diageo and DHN Drinks (Pty) Limited ('DHN'). DHN
is the entity which holds the licences for the combined beer, RTD and cider
portfolio of HEINEKEN, Diageo and NBL. HEINEKEN and Diageo each own a 42.25%
stake in DHN with NBL owning the remaining 15.5%.
Diageo will sell its 42.25% stake in DHN, which will result in HEINEKEN
increasing its stake from 42.25% to 75% and NBL increasing its stake from 15.5%
to 25%. NBL will acquire the 25% stake that Diageo owns in Sedibeng (Pty)
Limited ('Sedibeng') the entity which owns the Sedibeng brewery in Gauteng,
Johannesburg. HEINEKEN will retain its existing 75% stake in Sedibeng, which was
built in 2009 and has a capacity of 4.5mln hl.
NBL and HEINEKEN have agreed a new joint venture in South Africa. The new
arrangement will be fully focused on developing the beer portfolio and provides
HEINEKEN with increased commercial control of its key brands in South Africa.
South Africa is the biggest beer market in the region, with a growing middle-
class population and strong GDP growth. The beer market is expected to grow
approximately 1.5% per annum to 35 million hectolitres by 2024.
As a result of the agreement, and subject to regulatory approvals, the existing
brandhouse, DHN and Sedibeng joint ventures will be dissolved ahead of the
previously agreed April 2018 termination date. During the transition period,
brandhouse will continue to operate as normal, and a transition agreement is in
place between the three parties to ensure business continuity until HEINEKEN and
NBL complete the establishment of a new marketing, sales and distribution
business in South Africa.
Namibia
As part of the restructuring, the three parties have agreed a new ownership
structure for NBL. HEINEKEN will acquire the 15% indirect stake that Diageo owns
in NBL, increasing its indirect ownership to 29.9%. O&L will retain its 30.1%
indirect stake with the balance being held by local shareholders.
HEINEKEN will pay a total net cash consideration of c. ZAR 1.9bn (c. EUR
136mln) to Diageo for the equity and debt positions it acquires in Sedibeng, DHN
and NBL. Completion of the transaction is expected in Q4 2015 and is subject to
customary regulatory approvals.
Commenting on the transaction, Jean-François van Boxmeer, HEINEKEN CEO and
Chairman of the Executive Board, said:
"For the past 11 years we have benefitted enormously from our close
collaboration with Diageo and I would like to thank them for their valued
partnership and wish them well for their future in the region. Our new structure
allows us to focus fully on the beer category and strengthens our platform for
continued growth in the premium segment of the market. We look forward to
working with our longstanding partner Namibian Breweries and developing our
business further in this important part of the global beer market."
Commenting on the transaction Ivan Menezes, CEO Diageo plc said:
"We have worked very successfully with HEINEKEN and NBL throughout our
partnership, growing the beer business and establishing market leadership in
spirits. From this leadership position we now believe that Diageo has the
necessary scale to move to the next stage of growth for spirits, RTD's and our
beer and cider portfolio in a focused, simplified ownership structure."
Commenting on the transaction, Sven Thieme, Executive Chairman of O&L, said:
"We are delighted to have entered into a new partnership with HEINEKEN, having
worked so closely with them for many years now. The region has strong
demographics and compelling prospects for future growth. We look forward to this
next stage of our journey."
-ENDS-
ENQUIRIES
Media Investors
John Clarke Sonya Ghobrial
Director of External Communication Director of Investor Relations
Christine van Waveren Gabriela Malczynska/Marc Kanter
Financial Communications Manager Investor Relations Analyst/Manager
E-mail: pressoffice(at)heineken.com E-mail: investors(at)heineken.com
Tel: +31-20-5239355 Tel: +31-20-5239590
Editorial information:
About HEINEKEN
HEINEKEN is the world's most international brewer. It is the leading developer
and marketer of premium beer and cider brands. Led by the Heineken® brand, the
Group has a powerful portfolio of more than 250 international, regional, local
and specialty beers and ciders. We are committed to innovation, long-term brand
investment, disciplined sales execution and focused cost management. Through
"Brewing a Better World", sustainability is embedded in the business and
delivers value for all stakeholders. HEINEKEN has a well-balanced geographic
footprint with leadership positions in both developed and developing markets.
We employ 81,000 people and operate more than 160 breweries in 70 countries.
Heineken N.V. and Heineken Holding N.V. shares trade on the Euronext in
Amsterdam. Prices for the ordinary shares may be accessed on Bloomberg under the
symbols HEIA NA and HEIO NA and on Reuters under HEIN.AS and HEIO.AS. HEINEKEN
has two sponsored level 1 American Depositary Receipt (ADR) programmes: Heineken
N.V. (OTCQX: HEINY) and Heineken Holding N.V. (OTCQX: HKHHY). Most recent
information is available on HEINEKEN's website: www.theHEINEKENcompany.com and
follow us via (at)HEINEKENCorp.
About Brandhouse:
Brandhouse is South Africa's leading total beverage alcohol company with an
unrivalled portfolio of premium brands across the spirit, beer and RTD
categories. Brandhouse' portfolio of brands includes beer brands Amstel,
Heineken, Windhoek, Guinness; Strongbow cider; and spirit brands Johnnie Walker,
Smirnoff, J&B, Bell's, Bushmills, Tanqueray, Ciroc, and Captain Morgan, amongst
others. Brandhouse is a passionate campaigner for responsible drinking and an
active, responsible corporate citizen that cares about the communities and the
environment in which it trades.
Disclaimer:
This press release contains forward-looking statements with regard to the
financial position and results of HEINEKEN's activities. These forward-looking
statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking
statements. Many of these risks and uncertainties relate to factors that are
beyond HEINEKEN's ability to control or estimate precisely, such as future
market and economic conditions, the behaviour of other market participants,
changes in consumer preferences, the ability to successfully integrate acquired
businesses and achieve anticipated synergies, costs of raw materials, interest-
rate and exchange-rate fluctuations, changes in tax rates, changes in law,
change in pension costs, the actions of government regulators and weather
conditions. These and other risk factors are detailed in HEINEKEN's publicly
filed annual reports. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements, which speak only of the date of this press release.
HEINEKEN does not undertake any obligation to update these forward-looking
statements contained in this press release. Market share estimates contained in
this press release are based on outside sources, such as specialised research
institutes, in combination with management estimates.
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Source: HEINEKEN NV via GlobeNewswire
[HUG#1941607]
Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
Datum: 28.07.2015 - 08:30 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 409495
Anzahl Zeichen: 9258
contact information:
Town:
Amsterdam
Kategorie:
Business News
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