Six months after offloading its brewery in Ethiopia, Diageo has lined up another African divestment, this time of the Guinness Cameroon operations.
The transaction, which is valued at GBP389m (US$463m), sees French company Castel Group add the Guinness Cameron brewery to its operations in Africa. Castel was also the buyer in January of Diageo’s Meta Abo production facility in Ethiopia.
The sale was prompted by a review that considered the Guinness brand’s “strong growth” in Cameroon, which “identified capacity constraints”, Diageo said today. Castel, which already operates five breweries in the west African country, will assume responsibility for the production and nationwide distribution of Guinness.
Africa president Dayalan Nayager said: “Guinness has outgrown its existing brewery in Douala as a result of its strong performance. Under this new agreement, the brand will have both expanded brewing capacity and distribution. It will remain part of the global Guinness family through direct marketing oversight.”
Diageo’s global brand team for Guinness will retain marketing responsibilities for the market.
Elsewhere in Africa this week, former Heineken executive David Burford transitioned to the CEO position at Beck Family Estates in South Africa.
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