Heineken buys majority stake in Biela y Bebidas del Ecuador

Ecuador | On 2 May 2019, Heineken announced it has picked up a majority stake in the domestic brewer Biela y Bebidas Ecuador (Biela) from Cerec Holding, a consortium of local investors, for an undisclosed sum. Heineken plans to invest USD 100 million and also brew its eponymous brand in due course.

The move pits Heineken against the AmBev Ecuador, the local unit of AB-InBev-controlled AmBev.

The Andean country of 17 million people used to be a duopoly of SABMiller, the beer market leader, and AmBev. Following AB-InBev’s takeover of SABMiller, AmBev ran foul with Ecuador’s competition watchdog and was forced to dispose of one brewery and several brands to Cerec Holding in 2017.

The Biela brewery is located in Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest conurbation with over 3 million people, followed by Quito, the capital, with about 2 million people.   

Marc Busain, President Americas at Heineken, said: “We are pleased to announce our investment in Ecuador. With its favourable demographics, flourishing tourism industry and GDP growth, it offers a lot of potential to grow our premium offering, led by the Heineken brand.”

In the official statement, Heineken calls Ecuador a very attractive market, with GDP projected to grow at a 5.7 percent rate (CAGR) over the next ten years. Currently, annual beer sales stand at 6 million hl, or 39 litres per capita, which is low when compared with other Latin American countries.