E-Malt.com News article: Ethiopia: Meta Abo Brewery put up for full sale by PRESA

The Privatization and Public Enterprises Supervising Agency (PPESA) floated a new tender for the full acquisition of Meta Abo Brewery on Friday, July 1st, after cancelling the first tender which had put the brewery on the auction block in a joint venture, Addis Fortune reported on July, 3.

Meta Abo, which was established in 1967 by the government and private individuals, is the last remaining state brewery following the acquisition of Harar Brewery and Bedele Brewery by Heineken earlier this year.

The privatization of the three breweries was pushed forward due to great interest shown by the private sector in acquiring them. They were to be sold this fiscal year, which comes to an end on Friday, July 8.

Meta has the second largest share of the Ethiopian beer market with 16pc, according to research conducted by Access Capital in May 2010. BGI Ethiopia, a privately owned brewery, has the largest market share of 48pc with a capacity of 1.5 million hectoliters (hl), according to the research.

Meta Abo has undergone three major expansions to increase its annual production from 50,000hl. The first brought its production capacity to 120,000hl in 1970. After five years and its second round of expansion, production reached 301,000hl in 1997. The brewery’s current annual production is 500,000hl.



06 July, 2011