Pension funds to remain Nambrew investors
Heineken group CEO Dolf van den Brink says the Namibia Breweries Limited (Nambrew) will remain a local company despite its recent acquisition of the shareholding of Ohlthaver & List (O&L) who sold 60% of its shareholding to the Dutch brewing company.
Van den Brink’s comments come of the back of a courtesy call to President Hage Geingob last week following the conclusion of the transaction.
Speaking to Geingob, he said that it was important for Nambrew to remain a locally listed company.
“The company is publicly listed, the Namibian pension funds are a significant shareholder, and we were deliberate from the beginning that we will take over the O&L share. It is in the public interest, the ownership by Namibian pension funds will remain as is so we hope the Namibian public will still feel like they own this company and these brands,” Van Den Brink said.
Van den Brink also gave assurance that Nambrew would not lay off workers en masse, save for management level.
“There won’t be retrenchments, no reductions of employees below the management level, actually we are merging with the operations of Distell in Namibia, so 25 employees of Distell are joining into the operations of Nambrew,” he said. Heineken’s acquisition of Nambrew also includes the total takeover of Distell, the largest producer and marketer of spirits, fine wines, ciders and ready-to-drinks on the continent. Distell is the producer of Savanah, Tassenburg and the Hunters ciders.
The transaction served as a major point to also grow Nambrew as a business in Namibia, with plans to expand Distell’s operations in Namibia.
Empowerment important going forward
Heineken president for the African region Roland Pirmez said the company was unmoved by requirements to comply with empowerment equity targets set as government mulls the introduction of the Namibia Economic Empowerment Framework.
“It brings an opportunity, there is a team here is a local team, I think empowerment means that you empower the people and with the global knowledge and experience that you can bring, you can empower more people locally and grow with talents outside of Namibia, Pirmez said.
When pressed on government’s plans to introduce equity thresholds, while not on the ball regarding the detailed specifics, Pirmez said Heineken said opportunity for growth despite concerns over the long-awaited empowerment framework, adding that the company had a good equity representation.
“From an equity perspective, overall we have a good representation,” he said on the side-lines of an interview at State House.
The deal is Heineken’s biggest Mergers and Acquisition transaction in over 10-years, according to Van der Brink.
Van den Brink’s comments come of the back of a courtesy call to President Hage Geingob last week following the conclusion of the transaction.
Speaking to Geingob, he said that it was important for Nambrew to remain a locally listed company.
“The company is publicly listed, the Namibian pension funds are a significant shareholder, and we were deliberate from the beginning that we will take over the O&L share. It is in the public interest, the ownership by Namibian pension funds will remain as is so we hope the Namibian public will still feel like they own this company and these brands,” Van Den Brink said.
Van den Brink also gave assurance that Nambrew would not lay off workers en masse, save for management level.
“There won’t be retrenchments, no reductions of employees below the management level, actually we are merging with the operations of Distell in Namibia, so 25 employees of Distell are joining into the operations of Nambrew,” he said. Heineken’s acquisition of Nambrew also includes the total takeover of Distell, the largest producer and marketer of spirits, fine wines, ciders and ready-to-drinks on the continent. Distell is the producer of Savanah, Tassenburg and the Hunters ciders.
The transaction served as a major point to also grow Nambrew as a business in Namibia, with plans to expand Distell’s operations in Namibia.
Empowerment important going forward
Heineken president for the African region Roland Pirmez said the company was unmoved by requirements to comply with empowerment equity targets set as government mulls the introduction of the Namibia Economic Empowerment Framework.
“It brings an opportunity, there is a team here is a local team, I think empowerment means that you empower the people and with the global knowledge and experience that you can bring, you can empower more people locally and grow with talents outside of Namibia, Pirmez said.
When pressed on government’s plans to introduce equity thresholds, while not on the ball regarding the detailed specifics, Pirmez said Heineken said opportunity for growth despite concerns over the long-awaited empowerment framework, adding that the company had a good equity representation.
“From an equity perspective, overall we have a good representation,” he said on the side-lines of an interview at State House.
The deal is Heineken’s biggest Mergers and Acquisition transaction in over 10-years, according to Van der Brink.
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