SA's highest competition authority has finally approved Dutch brewer Heineken's tie-up with Distell nearly a year-and-a-half after the deal was first officially announced.
Distell, which owns brands such as Savanna, Hunter's Dry and Amarula, said on Thursday the transaction is now expected to be completed in April.
The conditions imposed by the body would be made available on the Competition Tribunal's website in due course, it said, adding they aligned "broadly" with those proposed by the Competition Commission when it gave approval in November.
Heineken said the approval gives the go-ahead for an "ambitious package" of public interest commitments including ongoing business investment, broad-based black economic empowerment, job creation, localisation and supplier development.
Heineken, the world's second-largest brewer, announced in late 2021 it was looking to buy Distell for about R40 billion, which would create a new regional drinks giant in competition with larger rival Anheuser-Busch InBev.
South African Breweries (SAB), a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev, opposed the deal. SAB argued that the deal would eliminate an effective competitor in South Africa.
Source: News24
