Guinness Nigeria Plc has announced the appointment of Mr. Girish Sharma as Managing Director and four other Non-executive Directors following the completion of the share sale agreement between the company and now former majority shareholder Diageo.
In a statement on the NGX, the company informed the public of the resignation of Mr Adebayo Alli – Managing Director, Ms Joan Hodgins as Vice Chair & Non-Executive Director, Mrs Grainne Wafer and Mr Leo Breen as Non-Executive Directors of the company.
Furthermore, Mr Harkishin Aswani was appointed as Vice Chair & Non-Executive Director while Messrs Deepak Singhal and John Musunga as Non-Executive Directors.
The company noted that the appointments were effective on the completion of the majority share purchase from Diageo.
The statement reads, “Guinness Nigeria Plc. (the Company) hereby gives the Nigerian Exchange Limited and the investing public notice of the following changes to its Board of Directors effective at the completion of the sale of the majority shares from Guinness Overseas Limited and Atalantaf Limited (Diageo) to N Seven Nigeria Limited (Tolaram) (“Completion”) i.e. 30th September, 2024”
It is important to note that Diageo today announced the completion of the sale of its shareholding in Guinness Nigeria PLC to Tolaram which was announced in July, 2024.
It stated that it would continue producing and distributing Guinness and its other locally manufactured brands across Nigeria under a licence and royalty agreement, which aligns with Diageo’s efficient and flexible beer operating model.
Following the changes made to the Board of Directors of Guiness Nig Plc, its new Board is as follows;
- Dr Omobola Johnson – Board Chair & Independent Non-Executive Director
- Mr Harkishin Aswani – Vice Chair & Non-Executive Director
- Mr Girish Sharma – Managing Director (Executive)
- Mr Emmanuel Difom – Finance & Strategy Director (Executive)
- Mr Deepak Singhal – Non-Executive Director
- Mr John Musunga – Non-Executive Director
- Prof Fabian Ajogwu, OFR, SAN – Independent Non-Executive Director
- Ms Ngozi Edozien – Independent Non-Executive Director
- Mrs Vivien Shobo – Independent Non-Executive Director
What you should know
In June 2024, Diageo reached an agreement to sell its controlling stake of 58.02% in Guiness Nigeria Plc to a Nigerian firm- Tolaram- signalling Diageo’s exit from Nigeria.
- The transaction, anticipated to close in fiscal 2025 pending regulatory approvals, will enable Tolaram to establish long-term licensing and royalty agreements for the continued production of the iconic Guinness brand, as well as Diageo’s ready-to-drink and mainstream spirits locally.
- Guinness at the time of the announcement had a market capitalisation of N110.7 billion, based on a share price of N50.5 per share, indicating that the deal could exceed N64 billion.
