RMB advises Heineken on employee share ownership scheme

Media release

8 September 2023

Heineken Beverages empowers its South African business with advice from its trusted advisor Rand Merchant Bank 

Heineken Beverages South Africa (HBSA), a subsidiary of Heineken Beverages Holdings (Heineken Beverages), has this week established a new evergreen employee share ownership scheme (ESOP) with the assistance and support of RMB as its sole financial advisor. Through the Bokamoso Trust, the ESOP will own 6% of HBSA for the direct benefit of HBSA’s approximately 5,000 South African employees.

In a separate but related transaction, RMB also acted as sole financial advisor to Heineken Beverages in relation to the restructuring of the previous empowerment partner to Distell, the Distell Development Trust (DDT), to establish it as a 9% shareholder of HBSA. These combined transactions result in HBSA having a Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) ownership of 15%, delivering on its commitments to the Competition Tribunal in terms of the Heineken/Distell/Namibian Breweries transaction.

RMB provided Heineken Beverages with an innovative and bespoke solution from design to implementation to deliver the desired B-BBEE solution for HBSA, showcasing RMB’s ability to develop and execute complex inter-related transactions in an efficient manner to achieve HBSA’s commercial and transformation objectives in South Africa, within tight regulatory imposed timelines.

“RMB is pleased to have partnered with a regional beverages champion such as Heineken Beverages for this transaction, which represents a significant step forward in enhancing the lives of the employees and communities in which HBSA operates. This transaction is another example of how RMB endeavours to become a trusted advisor to its clients,” Ferdi Vorster at RMB concludes.

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