Consumer Protection Authority Approves Meta Abo Acquistion

Apr 22 , 2022

The Trade Competition & Consumer Protection Authority has given the go-ahead to BGI to complete the acquisition of Meta Abo Brewery. In January, Diageo announced it had reached an agreement with BGI Ethiopia to sell its sole manufacturing in Ethiopia. Diageo wants to sell 99.9pc of its shares in Meta Abo, once a state-owned company before it was acquired 12 years ago for 225 million dollars. Erected in Sebeta town, Oromia Special Zone, 30Km southwest of Addis Abeba, in 1967, Meta has an annual production capacity of 1.7 million hectoliters. The acquisition will push BGI's production capacity to 6.4 million hectoliters. The acquisition process has been completed at the Documents Authentication & Registration Service, which evaluates the documents presented by the company, including tax clearance and other paperwork. Before the approval, in February 2022, the Authority had sent a letter to Heineken, Dashen, Habesha and United breweries asking for their take on the acquisition. "We have an exciting vision that will see Meta bigger and better than before," said Laurent Lescuyer, chief executive officer (CEO) at BGI Ethiopia.