In a 2018
interview, Peter Obi said he invested $20 million in International Breweries on
behalf of Anambra state as a governor.
Obi’s claim was in response to questions on economic
development, Anambra politics and his presidential ambition.
“… Anambra state is the single-highest shareholder in that
facility. I invested in it, over $20 million,” Obi had said.
“It is worth almost $100 [million] today. That’s what government should do.”
Chukwuma Soludo, governor of Anambra, also debunked a recent statement ascribed to him regarding the
investment.
International
Breweries (IB) Plc is a subsidiary of the world’s largest brewer,
Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) — a multinational drink and brewing giant based
in Leuven, Belgium.
In its 2021
audited financial statement,
the company said it holds 43 percent economic interest in International
Breweries Plc, a publicly listed company in Nigeria.
According to a report by The Nation, AB InBev merged its
Nigerian operations under a single corporate entity in 2017. It had three
indirect Nigerian subsidiaries — International Breweries Plc, Intafact
Beverages Limited and Pabod Breweries Limited. SABMiller Nigeria Holdings BV —
another subsidiary of AB InBev — was also a major stakeholder in Intafact and
Pabod.
ANAMBRA’S INVESTMENT
In a statement made available on Tuesday, Ifeatu Onejeme,
Anambra’s commissioner of finance, confirmed that Peter Obi’s administration
invested the sum of N1,955,535,247.00 (an equivalent of approximately
$12,616,356.43 at the then average CBN exchange rate of N155.00/$1) in Intafact
Beverages Limited, a green-field brewery set up in Onitsha by SABMiller
Breweries of South Africa in 2012.
Onejeme added that the state government still holds
407,321,264 ordinary shares of International Breweries Plc in exchange for the
Intafact Beverages Limited investment.
“Based on the NGX closing price of N5.50 as of 20/6/22,
these shares were valued at N2,240,266,952 on that date,” the statement reads
in part.
“Based on the Central Bank of Nigeria I&E exchange rate
of N415.75/US$1.00 on same June 20, 2022, this investment was valued at an
equivalent of approximately US$5,388,495.37 (and at N604/$1.00 parallel market
rate, only US$3,709,051.24).”
IB PLC’S SHAREHOLDERS & THEIR CURRENT STAKES
Checks showed that International Breweries has two major shareholders with stakes above 5 percent. The highest shareholder is AB INBEV Nigeria Holdings BV with 72.03 percent followed by Brauhaase International Management GMBH with 8.85 percent. These details are contained in the company’s financial report dated March 2022.
- AB
INBEV NIGERIA HOLDINGS BV — 78.44%.
- BRAUHAASE
INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT GMBH — 8.85%
- FREE
FLOAT — 11.03%.
Further checks showed that these individuals/ special
purpose vehicles (a subsidiary company that is formed to undertake a specific
business purpose) are part of the company’s minority stakeholders. They
include:
- Olugbenga
Awomolo – 1.24%.
- Michael
Onochie Ajukwu – 0.27%.
- Igwe
Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe – 0.15%.
- Akintoye
Sunday Omole – 0.01%.
- Peter
Nwokike Anugwu – 0.02%.
According to its financial records, International Breweries
Plc returned negative bottom-line figures in the last three years. These
are mainly due to high operational costs, FX fluctuations and supply chain
constraints.
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