Capital markets regulators in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania have approved Asahi Group
Holdings’ acquisition of East African Breweries PLC shares from Diageo plc without triggering
a mandatory takeover offer.
The announcement was made by Asahi’s legal and financial advisers at the global and local
levels, A & O Shearman, ENS, Nomura and Absa. The applications for exemption had been
made to the Capital Markets Authority of Kenya (CMA), Capital Markets and Securities
Authority of Tanzania (CMSA) and Capital Markets Authority of Uganda (CMA-U).
“Asahi hereby announces that each of the CMA, the CMSA and the CMA-U has granted an
exemption from the requirement to make a mandatory take-over offer for EABL in Kenya,
Tanzania and Uganda (as applicable) under the Kenya Take-over Regulations, the Tanzania
Take-over Regulations, and the Uganda Take-over Regulations respectively,” the company
said.
Asahi Group Holdings, a multinational alcohol and beverage company, will now proceed with
the transaction without having to buy out minority shareholders, which means that EABL
remains listed.
The exemptions also signal regulators’ satisfaction that the transaction would not
disadvantage minority shareholders.
Because EABL is listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange and cross-listed on the Dar es
Salaam Stock Exchange and the Uganda Securities Exchange, Asahi was required to secure
regulatory approval across all three markets.