Kenyan court postpones case seeking to halt Diageo's $2.3bn sale of EABL

An employee inspects bottles of beer on a conveyor belt along a production line at the East African Breweries' microbrewery as the company released its half-year results in Ruaraka, Nairobi Kenya, 26 January 2024. Reuters/Monicah Mwangi/File Photo/File Photo

Diageo, said last month it had agreed to sell its 65% stake in East African Breweries Limited to the Japanese brewer. Diageo is selling non-core assets to reduce debt, as well as offset the impact of US tariffs and a fall in sales driven by shifting consumer patterns.

Kenyan beer distributor Bia Tosha filed the case to try to block the deal this week over pending litigation dating back to 2016, sending Diageo's shares lower. EABL has said the case has no legal or factual link to the transaction.

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Bahati Mwamuye, a judge at the court, said the deal parties could take preliminary steps such as seeking regulatory approvals, as long as the transaction was not finalised by 20 January, when the court will give further directions.

Deal parties have said they expect completion in the second half of this year.

"We welcome the court's decision to allow the regulatory phases of this transaction to continue," EABL said in a statement.