Heineken receives greenlight in its bid to acquire Distell

Alcoholic beverage company, Heineken, has been given greenlight regarding its bid to acquire wine and cider company, Distell Group.

The latest information suggests that the Competition Tribunal has greenlighted the Dutch beermaker thus concluding the regulatory hurdles the Dutch brewer had to overcome to seal the deal.

Moneyweb has it that the approval by South African competition authorities comes after the Namibian Competition Commission, the Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa, as well as other concerned jurisdictions, gave the deal the go-ahead.

First announced in November 2021 as also reported by BusinessTech Africa, the deal will see Heineken invest €2.4 billion into Newco – which Distell and Namibia Breweries with Heineken South Africa will all merge under – for a 65% majority shareholding.

“We are delighted the Competition Tribunal has approved the deal. We are very excited to bring together three strong businesses to create a regional beverage champion, with a unique multi-category offer to better serve consumers, customers and create shared societal value across Southern Africa,” said Heineken CEO and chairman of the executive board Dolf van den Brink.

“We are committed to being a strong partner for growth and making a positive impact in the communities in which we operate, and the proactive and comprehensive public interest package we’ve put forward is a testament to that.”

In the wake of the announcement, Distell released the transaction update announcement (TUA) to investors on Sens, outlining the next steps in the transaction as well as the salient dates leading up to its delisting from the JSE.

The group’s shares are expected to be suspended on the JSE on Wednesday, 22 March.

Heineken says it anticipates the transaction to be implemented from April this year and the news saw Distell’s share price peaking at R181.62 during afternoon trade on Thursday, 2.61% stronger than where it started at market open.