Nigeria: Golden Guinea Breweries wins eight-year lawsuit against AB InBev

Golden Guinea Breweries Plc has triumphed in an eight-year, N10 billion lawsuit against Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) and International Breweries Plc, Brand Spur reported on July 12.

The brewer from Umuahia, Abia State, approached the Federal High Court in 2016 and demanded general damages from Pabod Breweries Limited, a business in which AB InBev owns a controlling equity share, in the amount of N10 billion. The brewery claimed Pabod had infringed on its trademark in the manufacturing of Eagle Stout.

On March 6, 2024, Justice Stephen Dalyop Pam of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt Division, rendered a decision following hearings from S. Nmor, the defendant, and Omolola Aderolu of Johnson Bryant, representing Golden Guinea Breweries Plc.

The Federal High Court granted Golden Guinea Breweries Plc, the owner of the trademark “Eagle Stout,” which is registered as No. 21153 in class 32 at the Nigerian Trade Marks Registry Abuja, among other rights, in a four-page court decision obtained by BusinessDay on Thursday. This includes the right to use the mark exclusively for the manufacture, sale, and distribution of the product in the Nigerian market.

Golden Guinea Breweries, the registered owner of the trademark “Eagle Stout,” has been granted exclusive use of the mark for the manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of the product in the Nigerian market, according to a ruling made by a Federal High Court judge in the suit with the number PHC/PH/CS/647/2016.

The court also granted a perpetual injunction, which forbids the defendants and anyone using the product on their behalf—whether they be directors, officers, servants, agents, privies, or any other person—from violating the plaintiff’s trademark registration for “Eagle Stout,” from passing off or attempting to pass off, or from causing, enabling, or assisting others in passing off “Eagle Stout,” as well as from adopting the distinctive word “Eagle Stout” on packets, packages, or bottles of the said product and falsely claiming it to be the plaintiff’s; and from manufacturing, importing, selling, or offering for sale or distribution of the product known as “Eagle Stout.”

Pabod Breweries Limited is situated on 186/187, Trans-Amadi/Elelenwo Bypass, Old Port Harcourt Two, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, whilst Golden Guinea Breweries Plc is located on Aba Road, Afara Layout, Umuahia in Abia State. The firm, fully paid, has 1.003 billion issued and outstanding ordinary shares, each valued at 50 kobo, and is listed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX).

Furthering, the following states hold 33,911,264 units, or 3.38 percent, of Golden Guinea Breweries Plc.; Imo State Government holds 18,044,208 units, or 1.80 percent; Ebonyi State Government holds 1,563,591 units, or 0.16 percent; Philmontan Nigeria Limited holds 31 million units, or 3.09 percent; Couthinho, Caro & Co. Nigeria Limited holds 13.608 million units, or 1.36 percent; Holsten Baruerei AG Hamburg holds 15 million units, or 1.50 percent; Floco Verwaltungs-Und holds 36,208,000 units, or 3.61 percent; Other Nigerian Associations and Citizens holds 101,500,937 units, or 10.12 percent; and Pan Marine Investments Limited holds 752.508 million units, or 75 percent.

With its newly installed equipment, Golden Guinea Breweries Plc plans to more than double the production capacity of Nigerian Breweries’ Ama, Enugu factory and SABMiller’s Intafact Beverages in Onitsha. The new equipment has the potential to make 48,000 bottles per hour (1.15 million bottles per day).

The largest brewer in the world, Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev), acquired the second-largest, SABMiller, for $106 billion in October 2016.

Due to the merger, the massive brewer now accounts for one-third of the beer consumed. As a result of that merger, AB InBev acquired SABMiller’s operations in Nigeria, which prompted the combination of Pabod Breweries Limited, based in Port Harcourt, Intafact Breweries Limited, based in Onitsha, and International Breweries Plc, based in Ilesha, which is the defendant in this lawsuit. At the moment, AB InBev owns 72.2% of International Breweries, 82.8 percent of Pabod Breweries, and 75% of Intafact.

Following Heineken’s Nigerian Breweries Plc and Diageo’s Guinness Nigeria Plc, SABMiller, which formerly owned Pabod Breweries, was the third-largest brewer in Nigeria prior to its acquisition by AB InBev. Despite its late 2009 entry into the Nigerian beer market, SABMiller acquired Pabod Breweries with great speed.

A Barrister, Uche Okwukwu said: “Golden Guinea Breweries Plc sued International Breweries Plc & Anheuser Busch InBev over the flagrant use of its registered Trade Mark “Eagle Stout.” The Court on 6th March, 2024 gave Judgment in favour of Golden Guinea Breweries Plc. The Judgement delivered on 6th March, 2024 at the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt is a reassurance that the Judiciary still is the final arbiter of justice.”

Former Ohaneze Ndi Igbo global Secretary General, Okwukwu stated that the Order of Perpetual Injunction barred the Defendants and everyone else on whose behalf they are sued from erasing any marks that bore the name “Eagle Stout” that they owned, controlled, or were in possession of.

Adding, he stated: “The nine points detailed in the Judgment Order are stern warnings against flagrant infringement of intellectual property of institutions in any guise. The Nigerian economy will be better sustained by Companies respecting and abiding by international obligations and best practices.”

Michael Okpara, the Premier of the former Eastern Region, founded Golden Guinea Breweries Plc. At first, the business was known as Independence Brewery Limited.

With a 1 million gallon capacity, it began production in 1963. Eagle Stout was first released by the firm in 1967, but the Nigerian Civil War hindered manufacturing between 1967 and 1970.

On January 1, 1979, Golden Guinea Breweries Plc went public on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), which is presently known as Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX). After a fire broke out in 2003 and damaged its boiler, it had to stop producing. Since starting production a few years ago, Pan Marine Investments Limited, the company’s principal investor in Golden Guinea Breweries Plc, has increased its attempts to further oversupply the market with its goods.

The brand news holds that Golden Guinea Breweries reported sales of N2.047 billion for the fiscal year that ended on March 31, 2022, up 40% from N1.463 billion in the previous year. Even yet, from N225.879 million in 2021 to N498.6 million in 2022, its loss increased by 121 percent.

Brewing, bottling, marketing, and distribution of Golden Guinea lager beer, Golden Guinea Malta, Eagle Stout, Bergedorf lager beer, Golden Malta, Oldsborg lager beer, and Oldsborg Malta are the company’s primary activities, according to the financial report.

After resuming its main operations in the 2020 fiscal year—brewing, bottling, and marketing Golden Guinea Lager beer, Golden Malta, Oldsborg Lager beer, and Oldsborg Malta—the company progressively expanded its business operations in 2022.

According to a financial statement at the NGX: “The Company continues to carry out
activities focused on expanding capacities and accelerating penetration across the markets. Also, positive results are being achieved in sourcing the funds and working capital required to accomplish remaining rehabilitation activities and resume operations on all the company’s product lines before the end of the next financial year.”

Some of the Golden Guinea production equipment that is currently in operation thanks to the efforts of the main investor and the backing of the Abia State and Federal Governments are the following: Grain Handling Plants; Weighing Scale; Hammer Mill and Roller Mill; Fermenting Plants; Bright Beer Tank (BBT) unit; two large Boilers; CO2 Plants; Mash Filter Units; Polisher; Receiving Scale; and Silos.

Three major global brands’ subsidiaries dominate the Nigerian brewery market: Guinness Nigeria (a subsidiary of Diageo, England, although Tolaram has agreed to purchase Diageo’s 58.02 percent stake in Guinness Nigeria Plc), Nigerian Breweries (a subsidiary of Heineken International, based in the Netherlands), and SABMiller (a subsidiary of AB InBev, Belgium).

However, Golden Guinea Breweries Plc manufactures and distributes a variety of beers, including Golden Guinea Lager, Eagle Stout, Bergedorf Premium Lager, and Bergedorf Malta, in accordance with a licence arrangement with Holsten Brauerei AG of Hamburg, Germany.

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