Guinness plans to Exit Nigeria as the country’s inflation wrecks losses on their business.

 Guinness plans to Exit Nigeria as the country’s inflation wrecks losses on their business.

Guinness has finally announced that they will be leaving Nigeria . This renounced company has been in operation since 1950 but it has decided to exit Nigerian market and sell off it’s shares to Singaporean conglomerate tolaram Group because of the unfavourable economic conditions of Bola Tinubu’s administration.

The company recorded a huge  N61.9 billion loss after paying tax between July 2023 and March 2024, this is just a few months after Mr Tinubu increased the naira in an attempt to unify the Naria’s  value on the official and foreign exchange markets.

But it’s so unfortunate that what he planned turned out to affect many multinational companies as they now suffer huge losses and financial setbacks. Guinness Nigeria loss N61.7 billion after the tax in Q3  was a 1,000 per cent decrease from the 5.9billion profit that was raised that same year.

The loss caused by the naira’s continued downward movement has involved Diageo, Guinness’ parent company, to decide on selling  its 58.02 per cent majority stake to the Singaporean group.

“Under the terms of an agreement signed today, 11 June 2024, Tolaram will acquire Diageo’s 58.02% shareholding in Guinness Nigeria royalty agreements for the continued production of the Guinness brand and its locally manufactured Diageo ready-to-drink and mainstream spirits brands,” the company said in a statement  on Tuesday.

Guinness Nigeria Plc, is a public limited liability company whose  quote on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, was incorporated on April 29, 1950, as a trading company importing Guinness Stout from Dublin.

Note that the Guinness brand has been in operation since 1950 in Nigeria, which makes the company 75 years old in Nigeria.

The news report has it that the company will be leaving next year while handing over to a third-party venture.

“The transaction is expected to be completed during fiscal 2025, subject to obtaining the requisite regulatory approvals in Nigeria,” said the statement signed by Abidemi Ademola, Guinness’s legal director.

Diageo, however, stated that the sale of its Nigerian brand would not in any way affect its ownership of the Guinness global brand.

Diageo “will retain ownership of the Guinness brand, which will be licensed to Guinness Nigeria for the long term.”

When Diageo’s left it also added  to a long list of other multinational companies, like GlaxoSmithKline and Microsoft, that have left Nigeria in the last one to two years, because of the harsh economy that makes their business unprofitable.

 Smirnoff Ice, Smirnoff Vodka, Orijin Bitters, Malta Guinness, Gordons Orange Sunset, and Dubic Malt are all some Diageo’s popular brands in Nigeria.