Diageo Plans To Increase Equity Stake In Guinness Nigeria - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Diageo Plc. (DGE.L, DEO) said that it has approached the Board of Directors of Guinness Nigeria plc with an intention to make an offer to increase its equity stake in Guinness Nigeria from 54.3% up to a maximum of 70% and to maintain Guinness Nigeria's listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

Subject to receiving regulatory approval and if Diageo decides to proceed with the proposed transaction, it is intended that Diageo, through its wholly owned subsidiary Guinness Overseas Limited, will launch a partial tender offer at a price not higher than NGN 175 per share in cash, giving all shareholders the opportunity to elect to sell some or all of their shares in Guinness Nigeria.

At the maximum offer price of NGN 175 per share, the proposed offer would represent a premium of 36 per cent to the 30-day volume weighted average share price and 40 per cent to Guinness Nigeria's closing share price on 8 September 2015. Guinness Nigeria currently has 1.51 billion ordinary shares in issue. Guinness Overseas may also seek to acquire shares in the market at a price not higher than the offer price of NGN 175 per share.

The proposed partial tender offer will be subject to requisite regulatory approvals, including those of the Nigerian Stock Exchange and the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission.