Chibuku, a traditional drink in Southern Africa, into in a number of African countries, including Tanzania and Uganda, countries that had no Chibuku tradition. Also the brewer, in its quest to utilise locally available materials, introduced beer made from cassava in Mozambique and Ghana. “Part of our strategy across Africa is to make high quality beer which is affordable for low-income consumers while simultaneously creating opportunities for smallholder farmers in our markets. The launch of Eagle in Ghana ticks both these boxes,” said Mark Bowman, Managing Director of SABMiller Africa at the launch of Eagle beer in Ghana. In Mozambique, another bright SABMiller star, the company introduced Impala lager. AB Inbev is banking on SABMiller’s “strong heritage” in the continent to be the “critical driver of growth for combined company”. SABMiller has upped its investment in Africa, with the company in the recent past acquiring a number of water brands in key markets like Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana and Uganda. The company also late last year joined forces with Coca-Cola to bottle and distribute beverages in 12 Southern and East African countries by creating Coca-Cola Beverages Africa - a partnership that will distribute 40% of Africa’s Coke’s volumes on the continent. It has commissioned its first brewery in Namibia as well. “Africa, as a continent, has hugely attractive markets with increasing GDPs, a growing middle class and expanding economic opportunities. Africa would continue to play a vital role in the future of the combined company, building upon the strong history and success of SABMiller in the region dating back to the 19th century” the companies said in the statement. To placate some of the concerns about the company losing its African roots, “AB InBev intends to establish a secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, as well as have a local board that would be critical to the future success of the combined company,” states AB InBev, smoothening over some of the critics of the deal. The company also intends to have Johannesburg continue being the regional headquarters for the combined group on the African continent. The critics, including labour unions in South Africa, where the company employs just below 9,000 of its global workforce, are worried that the new owners may decimate jobs, as they have done in other acquisitions they have been involved in.
Understanding AB Inbev
In the highly competitive beer market, AB Inbev is itself a result of a buyout of US based Anheuser-Busch by Inbev, which resulted from the merger of Belgian Interbrew and Brazilian Ambrew. The company operates in over 140 countries, brewing over 200 brands. The acquisition of SABMiller is a continuation of the equity capital company 3G Capital’s ambition in the food and beverage segment. The company is a significant investor in AB InBev. 3G Capital founding partners, Jorge Paulo Lemann, Marcel Telles, Carlos Alberto Sicupira, Roberto Thompson, and Alex Behring, cont next page foodbusinessafrica.com
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Food Business Africa | NOVEMBER 2015
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