Belgium & The Netherlands: Brouwerij Martens announces acquisition of United Dutch Breweries

Belgian family-owned Brouwerij Martens has acquired United Dutch Breweries, aiming to expand globally by leveraging their complementary strengths in brewing tradition, innovation, and market reach, the company announced on October 16.

This strategic acquisition is expected to unlock new growth opportunities and enhance value for stakeholders as both companies combine their expertise in production, branding, and distribution.

The collaboration marks a milestone in Brouwerij Martens’ expansion strategy, further solidifying their presence in international markets.

With a brewing heritage dating back to 1538, United Dutch Breweries (UDB) was among the first to export iconic Dutch beers all over the world. In close cooperation with its business partners, UDB has been brewing and shipping its proprietary brand portfolio of affordable premium beers to every corner of the world, with well established presence in more than 100 markets globally.

Since the investment by Gimv Consumer in 2015, UDB has evolved from a predominantly trade and volume-oriented beer company into a more focused, innovative, and growth focused organization. In 2023, UDB successfully launched its 'Easy Brewing system' in West Africa, an innovative and more sustainable way to open up local beer markets around the world.

Brouwerij Martens, founded in 1758, is the largest family-owned brewery in Belgium, based in Bocholt, Limburg. The company is an integral part of Belgium's rich brewing history and well known for its craftsmanship and passion for brewing. With a state-of-the-art and best practice brewery in terms of sustainability and efficiency, Brouwerij Martens produces and sells more than 4 million hectoliters of beer across more than 100 countries worldwide.

Koen Bouckaert, Managing Partner Consumer & Patrick Franken, Partner Consumer, jointly declare : "Entering into a new growth phase, this transaction perfectly reflects the strategic growth ambitions of United Dutch Breweries. Leveraging the best-in-class production and supply chain capabilities of Brouwerij Martens will allow UDB to unlock the full potential from its proprietary brand portfolio and unrivalled global route to market, opening up new and attractive growth opportunities for the combined group. In addition, both companies are highly complementary, providing the combined group with a unique opportunity to unlock synergies and create value for all stakeholders, making this a perfect match."

Tom Verhaegen, CEO United Dutch Breweries, declares: "The combination of Brouwerij Martens and UDB creates enormous opportunities for all our stakeholders, not least for our customers and employees. After all, we combine the strong commercial, branding and route to market competencies of UDB to the production and supply chain competencies of Brouwerij Martens, which are simply excellent in terms of quality, flexibility and innovation power. We look back at our journey with Gimv with gratitude and look forward to a bright future at Brouwerij Martens with great pride and enthusiasm."

Jan Martens, Executive Director Brouwerij Martens and 8th generation of the founding family, adds : "We see the collaboration with UDB as a new milestone in the history of our family brewery. After many investments in highly advanced and sustainable beer production and filling capacity, our focus and strategy now aim to strengthen our position in global markets with profitable and strong beer brands. UDB will certainly complement our ambitions here. The 9th generation of family brewers is ready to make this new challenge a success story with all our employees in Belgium and the Netherlands."

Danny Dresselaerts, CEO Brouwerij Martens, declares : "We are extremely proud to have been able to realize this transaction together with Gimv and UDB and consider the strategic cooperation with UDB as an important milestone in the further development and strengthening of our joint global business. Moreover, with strong brands such as Oranjeboom and Royal Dutch, and a broad international sales network, UDB will give our growth ambitions special acceleration. The complementarity between the two companies offers unique opportunities to commonly create more value, and we look forward with enormous confidence to realize our ambitions together with the team of UDB."

The transaction has no significant impact on the Net Asset Value per share as per 30 June 2024 that Gimv reported in the Trading Update of 3 September 2024. No further financial details will be disclosed.

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