Beer maker Champion Breweries has agreed to buy all the brand assets and intellectual property of the range of products within the Bullet drink portfolio, the company disclosed on Wednesday.
The new decision represents its first acquisition since a new majority owner took over last year.
The deal opens up the window for the Uyo-based brewer, known for producing lager beer and malt drinks, to try its hand at energy drinks and high-growth food and beverage products as it seeks to broaden its offerings in a market where profit margin is typically slim and volume can be the winning factor.
“The transaction is structured as an asset carve-out, with the assets to be held in a newly incorporated company in the Netherlands,” the company said in a note to the Nigerian Exchange.
“Post-acquisition, Champion Breweries Plc will hold a majority interest in the new business, while Vinar N.V, a Belgian entity and the majority shareholders of Sun Mark, will hold a minority stake,” it added.
Sun Mark International Limited, a British FMCG company, currently owns the Bullet brand.
In 2024, new core investor Enjoycorp acquired the 86.5 per cent interest owned by Heineken B.V through Raysun Nigeria Limited in Champions Breweries after more than three years in which the Dutch liquor giant held the controlling stake.
Enjoycorp, registered in the UK and incorporated last year, has Ehimare Idiahi, a board member of Champion Breweries, as one of its directors, according to checks by PREMIUM TIMES.
A go-ahead from the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission and other regulatory approvals must be in place before the Bullet acquisition can be completed.
Champion Breweries summoned an emergency general meeting in July to talk shareholders into acquiring an entity, which it did not name at the time, in order to actualise its strategic growth plans. It also demanded their consent to raise N45 billion in fresh capital and issue additional 5 billion shares.
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A key resolution from the talks was the authorisation “to undertake an acquisition transaction whether by way of acquisition of shares of a going concern or through the acquisition of equity interest in a special purpose vehicle that holds intellectual property rights and brand assets.”
The idea, the company added, is to secure a “beneficial ownership and control of the said intellectual property and brand.”
The business combination at end of the takeover process will unify the financials of Bullet’s operations into those of Champion Breweries, the manufacturer said.
As of half-year 2025, the brewer’s total assets jumped to N25.9 billion from N21.3 billion last December. After-tax profit for the period stood at N2.3 billion, compared to a net loss of N386.7 million a year earlier.
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