Diageo is to sell its stake in the publicly listed Guinness Ghana Breweries to French drinks group Castel for $81m.
Guinness Ghana Breweries, in which Diageo has held an 80.4% shareholding, will remain listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange.
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In a statement announcing the deal today (28 January), the UK drinks giant said the Diageo brands produced by the Ghanaian business – including Guinness – will be licenced to Castel under a new contract.
In 2022, Diageo sold its its Guinness brewing operation in Cameroon to Castel. A year ago, the Tanqueray gin owner offloaded its shareholding in publicly-listed Guinness Nigeria to Singapore-based consumer group Tolaram.
Over the weekend, Diageo sought to shut down speculation the company was weighing up selling its Guinness business and reviewing its shareholding in Moët Hennessy.
In today’s statement, the group said the latest deal with Castel “further demonstrates Diageo’s active portfolio management and commitment to building an efficient operating model in west Africa that is structured to deliver long-term and sustainable growth”.
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By GlobalDataThe transaction with Tolaram in Nigeria saw Guinness Nigeria keep the rights to manufacture and distribute Guinness, as well as “mainstream spirits” including Johnnie Walker, Singleton and Baileys.
Dayalan Nayager, the CEO of Diageo’s operations in Africa, said today: “Guinness Ghana is performing strongly powered by a fantastic team of people. Through this transaction, I look forward to the Guinness brand continuing to thrive and delivering further growth.”
Gregory Clerc, Castel’s CEO, said with the acquisition meant the company would be present in a 22nd African market. He added: “We reaffirm our dynamism, our boldness, and our confidence in Africa’s potential.
“This acquisition exemplifies the entrepreneurial spirit that drives Castel and marks a new milestone in our growth ambition.”
In the year to the end of June, Guinness Ghana Breweries generated revenue of 2.37bn cedis($16m), up from 1.77bn 12 months earlier. The company’s operating profit from activities fell from 128.2m cedis to 101.2m cedis. Its profit for the year stood at 34.8m cedis, versus 39.5m cedis the year previous.
After the deal is finalised, Diageo’s operations in Africa consist of East African Breweries Limited, which is present in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, as well as the Diageo South West Central unit.
