Nothing new under the African sun, really. Like SABMiller before, AB-InBev hopes to drive African sales with cheaper beer to lure more drinkers to commercial beer, AB-InBev’s Africa head Ricardo Tadeu said on 13 April 2017.

It was probably only a matter of time before Stellenbrau would succumb to a sweet offer from Heineken. At the end of March 2017 it was reported that Heineken’s South African unit and Stellenbrau had clinched a deal. No transaction details were disclosed.

Following its takeover of SABMiller, AB-InBev has embarked on its ambitious cost-cutting programme. One of its more public measures is offering managers at South African Breweries (SAB) voluntary severance packages.

The business must be solid if a pension fund buys into it. In June 2016 the South African Competition Commission would only approve AB-InBev’s acquisition of SABMiller if AB-InBev sold SABMiller’s 26 percent stake in local wine and drinks group Distell, the manufacturer of the Savannah cider brand.

How to break into Castel’s moat? Well, you undercut its prices. This seems to be Heineken’s strategy in Ivory Coast, where the Dutch brewer opened its first brewery near the capital of Abidjan in November 2016.

Who was the practical joker who uploaded this video on Youtube on 6 October 2016 – the day SABMiller was taken off the stock exchange following its takeover by AB-InBev?

As could be expected, The Coca-Cola Company said on 10 October 2016 that it plans to buy AB-InBev’s stake in Coke's largest African bottler. Coke exercised its right to acquire the bottler under a change-of-control clause.

Never mind the Ethiopian government declaring a six-month state of emergency on 8 October 2016, beer companies still place great hopes on beer consumption going up at the Horn of Africa.

The rising star of Africa

There were not many compelling reasons for AB-InBev to take over SABMiller, except for one: AB-InBev wanted SABMiller’s African business. If projections hold true, the African continent with its 1.2 billion people will become a critical driver for the future growth of AB-InBev’s business. Between 2015 and 2025 beer volumes in Africa are expected to rise over 30 million hl to reach to 175 million hl. With global beer volumes in decline since 2013 all hopes now rest on Africa to replace China as the driving force in the brewing industry. Imagine that: brewers will be saved by Africa, a continent that has long struggled to shake off its image as ‘lost’.

Heineken’s introduction of Sol Mexican lager to South Africa in September 2016 forms part of a plan to boost its market share in a country soon to be dominated by AB-InBev. Fearing that AB-InBev may bring with it Corona Extra plus a host of other international brands, Heineken decided to be the first to offer a Mexican beer.