Seychelles: Diageo divests majority stake in Seychelles Breweries

Diageo has sold its majority stake in Seychelles Breweries to Mauritius-based Phoenix Beverages for around $80m, Yahoo!Finance reported on April 2.

The Guinness owner held a 54.4% stake in the publicly-listed Seychelles Breweries, which markets a range of drinks products, including SeyBrew beer.

Diageo’s sale of its stake in Seychelles Breweries is the latest in a series of disposals in Africa.

Seychelles Breweries will continue to be listed on the Seychelles Stock Exchange after the deal is closed.

Under the terms of the deal with Phoenix Beverages, Diageo will distribute IPS in-market, which will be licensed to Seychelles Breweries under a new “long-term” agreement.

In a brief statement, Dayalan Nayager, the president Diageo’s business in Africa and chief commercial officer, said: “I am excited to extend our successful partnership with Phoenix Beverages, a long-term partner in the Indian Ocean region, to further unlock value for Seychelles Breweries and deliver long-term sustainable growth.”

In the year to 30 June, Seychelles Breweries generated net sales of SRs568.2m ($39m), versus SRs578.3m 12 months earlier.

The company’s operating profit fell 23% to SRs137.8m. Profit for the year stood at SRs91m, against SRs122.2m the year previous.

Phoenix Beverages, which produces Guinness and Smirnoff Ice for Diageo in Mauritius, is a subsidiary of local conglomerate IBL Group.

Arnaud Lagesse, the chairman of Phoenix Beverages, said the acquisition of Diageo’s stake in Seychelles Breweries, “allows us to fast-track our ambitions in a way that organic growth alone could not match”.

He added: “Strengthening our presence in the Seychelles gives us the momentum to create lasting value and deepen our leadership across the Indian Ocean beverage landscape.”

In January, Diageo announced a deal to sell its stake in the publicly listed Guinness Ghana Breweries to French drinks group Castel for $81m.

In 2022, Diageo sold its Guinness brewing operation in Cameroon to Castel. A year ago, the Tanqueray gin owner offloaded its shareholding in publicly-listed Guinness Nigeria to Singapore-based consumer group Tolaram.

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