International law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has advised Heineken International B.V. on the acquisition of two brewing companies from the Sona Group for an undisclosed price. The two acquired businesses have controlling interests in each of the Sona, IBBI, Benue, Life and Champion breweries in Nigeria.

The acquisition provides Heineken with additional technical capacity and improves the geographic location of its breweries. This will enable Heineken to take advantage of the attractive future growth opportunities that exist in different regions of Africa. 

The Freshfields team worked closely with Steven van Maasakker (Heineken Group General Counsel) and Kevin Santry (Heineken Regional Legal Counsel – Africa & the Middle East) and was led by London corporate partners Sundeep Kapila and Andrew Hutchings with support from senior associate Gareth Camp and associate Timothy Deacon. Tax advice was provided by London partner Sarah Falk with support from associate May Smith.