 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
| Heineken and Diageo to build brewery in South Africa |
| London, 07.03.2008 |
|
| By David Jones
LONDON (Reuters) - British drinks giant Diageo (DGE.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and Dutch brewer Heineken (HEIN.AS: Quote, Profile, Research) agreed to strengthen their ties in South Africa and take on dominant domestic brewer SABMiller (SAB.L: Quote, Profile, Research) by building a brewery there by end-2009.
Diageo, which makes Guinness beer and Smirnoff vodka, and Heineken, famed for its eponymous lager and Amstel, said they planned to build a brewery in the Gauteng province around Johannesburg and already had two sites under consideration.
The new brewery will be 75 percent owned by Heineken and 25 percent by Diageo and have an initial capacity of 3 million hectoliters.
It will produce Amstel, Guinness and Windhoek beers and also "ready-to-drink" Smirnoff Ice-like products.
Analysts said the two may face difficulties building a brewery in a country wracked by power shortages and with much construction work directed towards the football World Cup in 2010, but it would be a big challenge to SABMiller's position.
In a second joint venture, Diageo and Heineken will team up in a profit-sharing deal with Namibia Breweries Ltd (NBL) to combine their beer, cider and ready-to-drink businesses in South Africa and replaced their old Brandhouse cost-sharing venture.
Diageo and Heineken will each own 42.25 percent of the venture, to be called DHN Drinks, and NBL -- which brews Windhoek beer -- will own 15.5 percent.
Heineken's chance to expand in South Africa came in March 2007 when an International Chamber of Commerce court ruled to terminate SABMiller's license to brew and distribute Heineken's Amstel beer in South Africa.
Amstel dominated South Africa's premium market, accounting for 9 percent of the national beer market and SABMiller said the license loss would cost it $80 million in annual profits.
Heineken said at the time that it planned to build the only non-SABMiller owned brewery in South Africa, which came as a blow to SABMiller which then controlled 98 percent of the national beer market.
SABMiller says it has clawed back half of Amstel's 9 percent share, or 2.5 million hectoliters, by promoting its own premium beers such as Hansa Marzen Gold, Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Castle Light and will launch its recently acquired Grolsch Dutch beer later this year in South Africa.
London-based SABMiller, the world's biggest brewer, said its share of the very profitable South Africa beer market is around 93-94 percent, while Heineken has been shipping its Amstel beer from Europe and building up its South African distribution.
Across both new ventures, Heineken's total net investment will be 260 million euros ($401 million). In the first two years, Diageo will invest 100 million pounds ($202 million) in both joint ventures, the two firms said in a statement.
Diageo shares were off 1.1 percent at 10.05 pounds, SABMiller was down 0.4 percent at 10.35 pounds in a lower UK market. Heineken was down 1.5 percent to 36.57 euros by 4:50 a.m. EST.
GMT.
odkaz na stránku
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Address : Euro-Brew Ltd., Hlboká 22, 917 01 Trnava, Slovakia
Tel. : +421 33 53 418 53, Fax : +421 33 53 418 52, E-mail : info@eurobrew.sk |
|
|
