Heineken acquires minority stake in leading Belize brewer

Heineken International B.V has acquired a minority stake in Belize Brewing Company, which it describes as “Belize's market leader” in beer.

Belize Brewing is a subsidiary of Bowen & Bowen and has been an importer and distributor of Heineken brands such as Heineken, Amstel and Red Stripe in Belize for the past two years.

The firm brews Belikin beer, the leading domestically produced beer brand in Belize. 

The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. 

“We are delighted to announce the new partnership with Belize Brewing Company and the Bowen family,” said Marc Busain, President of Heineken’s Americas unit.

“We recognise BBC's strong capabilities and position in the country, which has a fast-developing tourism industry and stable GDP growth, and offers a lot of potential to grow our premium offering, led by the Heineken® brand. We look forward to continue growing together."

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Michael Bowen, President and CEO of Belize Brewing Company added: "We welcome Heineken as our new partner. Heineken is a world-class family-owned company that shares our values. We look forward to improving and growing our company with the help of our strategic partner."

The acquisition comes as Heineken tries to expand its operations in Central America. 

With a $500mn investment, Heineken opened a new brewery in Meoqui, Mexico, in February noting that it saw a “flourishing beer sector and great additional potential” in the country. 

In its first-quarter results, the world’s second-largest brewer said that beer volumes grew 6.8% in its Americas division with Tecate, Dos Equis and Heineken all performing particularly strongly in Mexico.