Diageo Sells Majority Shareholding in Guinness Nigeria to Tolaram for N103Bn

Femi Ashekun/

Diageo is selling its majority shareholding in its subsidiary Guinness Nigeria to Tolaram Group, makers of the popular Indomie brand of noddle.

Diageo will sell its 58 per centstake in Guinness Nigeria to Tolaram, a conglomerate headquartered in Singapore for N81.60k per share, amounting to about N103bn.

“The acquisition of Guinness Nigeria marks a pivotal moment in Tolaram’s journey of growth and diversification,” said Haresh Aswani, the group’s managing director in Africa. “We are thrilled to welcome a company with such a rich legacy and strong consumer loyalty into our ecosystem.”

Tolaram, which has joint ventures with several leading consumer goods multinationals such as Kellanova and Colgate-Palmolive, is one of the largest consumer goods companies present in Africa, with combined investments of more than $1bn in Nigeria.

It is one of a growing number of largely non-western groups taking advantage of the retreat of their western competitors. Others, including Singapore-listed Olam and Turkey’s Hayat Kimya, continue to invest in Nigeria. Analysts say they provide the Nigerian market with cheaper alternatives and often have a higher risk appetite.

Diageo said it would retain ownership of the Guinness brand in the country and continue to license it to Guinness Nigeria.

Nigeria makes up between 1-2 percent of Diageo’s global net sales value.

Guinness Nigerian used to manufacture and distribute brands, including Baileys and Smirnoff, until Diageo and Guinness Nigeria terminated their international spirits license agreement last October so that the latter could focus on local brands.