Heineken sees synergies from Distell deal but not from job losses

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Dutch brewer Heineken sees synergies in production, logistics and procurement from buying South Africa’s Distell Group Holdings and Namibia Breweries Ltd but does not see them coming from job losses, its chief executive said on Monday.

“There’s good cost synergies, not really employment-driven. We will also be engaging with the minister of trade on making commitments in that regard, but I don’t expect any job losses in the near term,” Dolf van den Brink told Reuters.

Hw also said revenue synergies would be “significant”, adding: “I think typically that’s code language for at least 10% of revenue or over, which I think is what we have typically been able to promise and deliver in similar deals in the recent past.”

(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Edmund Blair)