Heineken buys Diageo stakes

DIAGEO, the world’s largest spirits company, had sold its stakes in Jamaican brewer Desnoes & Geddes and GAPL, the majority owner of Malaysia’s Guinness Anchor Berhad, to Heineken for $780.5 million (R10.4 billion). The transaction also includes Diageo’s acquisition of a 20 percent stake in Guinness Ghana Breweries (GGBL) from the Dutch brewer, raising Diageo’s total stake in GGBL to 72.42 percent. The maker of Smirnoff vodka and Johnnie Walker whisky said the deal with Heineken would increase the firms’ focus in beer businesses in Jamaica, Malaysia, Singapore and Ghana. Diageo said the deals would result in an exceptional profit after tax. – Bloomberg