Heineken N.V. has seen its market capitalization decline by $4 billion in the past eight days, as wary investors trim down stakes in the multinational brewer after revealing plans to acquire South Africa’s most expansive wine and spirits maker, Distell Group.
On Nov. 15, the Dutch multinational announced that it entered into an implementation agreement to acquire Distell’s operations for €2.2 billion ($2.52 billion) through Sunside Acquisitions Proprietary Limited, a newly incorporated unlisted subsidiary of Heineken International in South Africa.
In addition to the acquisition, Heineken will acquire a 50.01-percent stake in NBL Investment Holdings Limited (NBLIH), as the Netherlands-based brewer moves to fully take over NBLIH.
Since Heineken announced its plans to take over the new operations in South Africa and Namibia, its shares on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange slumped by more than six percent as short-term-oriented investors trim their holdings.
As of press time, Nov. 23, shares in the Dutch behemoth were trading at €92.14 ($103.69), 35-basis points lower than its opening price for the day as the bears continue to determine the direction of the brewer’s shares.
Since Nov. 15, exactly eight days ago, Heineken’s shares on the Amsterdam bourse have fallen from €98.36 ($110.69) to €92.14 ($103.69) per share, accruing a 6.32-percent loss for shareholders over the eight days.
As a result of the decline in share price, Heineken’s market capitalization has slumped from €56.63 billion ($63.73 million) on Nov. 15 to €53.05 billion ($59.7 billion) as of the time of writing.
This translates to a market-value loss of €3.58 billion ($4.03 billion) for the behemoth in eight days.
Regarding the proposed acquisition, Heineken Chairman and CEO Dolf van den Brink said the purchase will create a regional beverage champion, perfectly positioned to capture growth opportunities in Southern Africa.
“With the acquisition, we will be able to better serve our consumers and customers through a unique combination of multi-category leading brands and a strengthened route-to-market,” he said.
Since the planned acquisition was announced, the net worth of South Africa’s wealthiest man Johann Rupert has declined by $200 million to $11.8 billion.
The recent decline in his net worth is not in any way linked to news regarding Heineken’s interest in Distell and NBLIH.
