SABMiller Takes on Diageo, Heineken in Namibia (Update1)
Source: Bloomberg 8/9/09
By Nicky Smith and Andrew Cleary
Sept. 8 (Bloomberg) -- SABMiller Plc won a license to open a brewery in Namibia, taking the fight for control of southern Africa’s beer market to the home of competitor Namibia Breweries Ltd.
SAB will invest in the brewery through a new subsidiary, SABMiller Namibia Ltd., the London-based company said in an e- mailed statement today. The maker of Castle Lager and Carling Black Label has been importing beer into Namibia, where it controls about 22 percent of the market. Namibia Breweries sells Windhoek Lager, a premium beer, and Heineken into South Africa to compete with SAB brands.
SAB has been seeking local brewing rights for the past decade in Namibia, a market dominated by Namibia Breweries, in turn 29 percent owned by SAB’s international competitors, Diageo Plc and Heineken NV.
“SABMiller are putting their beers into Namibia to say we can sell beer in your back garden too,” Chris Gilmour, an analyst with Absa Asset Management Private Clients, said in an interview from Johannesburg today. “It’s upping the stakes in the southern African beer wars. The sparks are going to fly.”
Namibia has a population of about 2 million while almost 50 million people live in South Africa.
Tanzanian Spat
SAB, Diageo and Heineken are fighting for control of Africa’s beer markets. SABMiller won a court ruling in the U.K. last month that prevents Diageo’s East African Breweries Ltd. unit from buying Serengeti Breweries Ltd. in Tanzania until arbitration is completed.
Namibia Breweries has a partnership with Diageo and Heineken through a company called Brandhouse Beverages Ltd. that sells into South Africa, Gilmour said, which “is enough of an irritant” for SABMiller.
Opening a brewery in Namibia will allow SABMiller to sell beer in Namibia in returnable bottles for the first time. “That is where you get the big savings and cost advantages,” Gilmour said, adding that most of the beer SAB sells in South Africa is sold in returnable bottles. Currently SAB trucks beer to Namibia.
“SABMiller has the economies of scale to produce beer very cheaply,” Gilmour said. “I suspect they may undercut Nambrew and give Namibia a big variety of beer, and will probably bring in things like Peroni Nastro Azzurro” to compete with Windhoek.
SAB didn’t say when its Namibian brewery will be built Or how big it will be. Beer consumption in Namibia is still “moderate” at 40 liters (10.6 gallons) per capita annually, SAB spokesman Nigel Fairbrass said by telephone. Consumption in South Africa, is about 56 liters per capita.
“The Namibian government’s decision to grant us this license is a milestone,” Cobus Bruwer, managing director of SAB’s Namibia unit, said in the statement. “When the plant is operational, we expect to contribute significantly to the Namibian economy.”
Brandhouse is expected to open a 3 million hectoliter brewery near Vereeniging, south of Johannesburg, this year to sell beer in South Africa.
“The timing is fantastic,” Gilmour said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Cleary in London at acleary7@bloomberg.net. Or Nicky Smith in Johannesburg at nsmith38@bloomberg.net
Source: Bloomberg 8/9/09
By Nicky Smith and Andrew Cleary
Sept. 8 (Bloomberg) -- SABMiller Plc won a license to open a brewery in Namibia, taking the fight for control of southern Africa’s beer market to the home of competitor Namibia Breweries Ltd.
SAB will invest in the brewery through a new subsidiary, SABMiller Namibia Ltd., the London-based company said in an e- mailed statement today. The maker of Castle Lager and Carling Black Label has been importing beer into Namibia, where it controls about 22 percent of the market. Namibia Breweries sells Windhoek Lager, a premium beer, and Heineken into South Africa to compete with SAB brands.
SAB has been seeking local brewing rights for the past decade in Namibia, a market dominated by Namibia Breweries, in turn 29 percent owned by SAB’s international competitors, Diageo Plc and Heineken NV.
“SABMiller are putting their beers into Namibia to say we can sell beer in your back garden too,” Chris Gilmour, an analyst with Absa Asset Management Private Clients, said in an interview from Johannesburg today. “It’s upping the stakes in the southern African beer wars. The sparks are going to fly.”
Namibia has a population of about 2 million while almost 50 million people live in South Africa.
Tanzanian Spat
SAB, Diageo and Heineken are fighting for control of Africa’s beer markets. SABMiller won a court ruling in the U.K. last month that prevents Diageo’s East African Breweries Ltd. unit from buying Serengeti Breweries Ltd. in Tanzania until arbitration is completed.
Namibia Breweries has a partnership with Diageo and Heineken through a company called Brandhouse Beverages Ltd. that sells into South Africa, Gilmour said, which “is enough of an irritant” for SABMiller.
Opening a brewery in Namibia will allow SABMiller to sell beer in Namibia in returnable bottles for the first time. “That is where you get the big savings and cost advantages,” Gilmour said, adding that most of the beer SAB sells in South Africa is sold in returnable bottles. Currently SAB trucks beer to Namibia.
“SABMiller has the economies of scale to produce beer very cheaply,” Gilmour said. “I suspect they may undercut Nambrew and give Namibia a big variety of beer, and will probably bring in things like Peroni Nastro Azzurro” to compete with Windhoek.
SAB didn’t say when its Namibian brewery will be built Or how big it will be. Beer consumption in Namibia is still “moderate” at 40 liters (10.6 gallons) per capita annually, SAB spokesman Nigel Fairbrass said by telephone. Consumption in South Africa, is about 56 liters per capita.
“The Namibian government’s decision to grant us this license is a milestone,” Cobus Bruwer, managing director of SAB’s Namibia unit, said in the statement. “When the plant is operational, we expect to contribute significantly to the Namibian economy.”
Brandhouse is expected to open a 3 million hectoliter brewery near Vereeniging, south of Johannesburg, this year to sell beer in South Africa.
“The timing is fantastic,” Gilmour said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Cleary in London at acleary7@bloomberg.net. Or Nicky Smith in Johannesburg at nsmith38@bloomberg.net
0 comments:
Posting Komentar