Nigerian Breweries Moves to Acquire Another Wine Company, Shuts Down Two Plants

• Nigerian Breweries has disclosed plans to acquire a majority stake in Distell Wines & Spirits Nigeria Limited
• This comes as the firm also said it is shutting down two of its plants as part of its reorganisational strategies
• The plan to acquire Distell Wines & Spirits would be concluded by June as part of the brewer’s plans for market dominance 

Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment and the economy for over a decade.

Nigerian Breweries wants to acquire an 80% share in Distell Wines & Spirits Nigeria Limited by the first half of 2024.

The Managing Director and CEO of NB Plc, Hans Essaadi, disclosed this at the company’s pre-AGM media briefing in Lagos.

NB to shut down two plants

The company said it would shut down two of its nine breweries in Nigeria as part of its reorganisation plans.

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In June last year, Nigeria Breweries disclosed plans to acquire an 80% stake in Distell Wines and Spirits Nigerian Limited as part of its efforts to capture essential growth opportunities in the wines and spirits segment of the industry.

Punch reports that the announcement is in a notification of the proposal sent to Nigeria Exchange Limited (NGX) and signed by the firm secretary, Uaboi Agbebaku.

It also stated that the company received an offer from Heineken Beverages Limited to acquire an 80% majority stake in Distell Wines & Spirits.

Heineken to acquire majority stakes in Distell

Reports say the NB boss disclosed that its majority shareholder, Heineken NV, was committed to taking its share of the rights issue when it opened.

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According to him, part of the future-proofing plan is how NB ensures that it follows the trends, adding that consumer needs are changing.

NB Release of New Price List for Drinks

Legit.ng earlier reported that Hans Essaadi, the chief executive officer of Nigerian Breweries Plc, has revealed that Nigerians can no longer afford to buy beer due to the economic situation.

Essaadi stated this at the company's investor call on Monday, February 19, 2024, following the release of its 2023 results.

The previous year (2023) took a lot of work for the company regarding sales.

Source: Legit.ng