Minority investors of listed brewer EABL have seen their paper wealth fall by Sh12.45 billion in the past four weeks.
This is after the company’s share price retreated from the rally caused by the December 2025 disclosure that British multinational Diageo Plc plans to sell its 65 percent stake to Japanese beverage maker Asahi Holdings at a major premium.
EABL closed at Sh254.75 per share in Tuesday's trading at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), giving the company a total valuation of Sh201.45 billion. Minority shareholders in the company hold a 35 percent stake, giving their shares a value of Sh70.5 billion.
When the Diageo deal was disclosed on December 17, 2025, EABL was trading at Sh252 per share, before rallying by 18.94 percent to Sh299.75 per share on December 18, the first day of full trading after the announcement was made.
On the day, investors bought 457,069 shares worth Sh137 million at the higher average price of Sh299.75, with an eye on potential gains if the price were to keep rising. At this price level, their stake was worth Sh82.9 billion.
This rally handed minority owners of the company a gain of Sh13.2 billion in their paper wealth on the day, part of an overall Sh37.8 billion gain in market capitalisation for the brewer.
The December 18 price jump, according to analysts, was triggered by Asahi’s valuation of the EABL stake at an equivalent of Sh590.5 per share which represented a significant premium above the brewer’s NSE market price. Diageo is selling the stake that is equivalent to 514 million shares for a consideration of $2.354 billion (Sh303.5 billion).
Asahi however followed up with a caution to the minority investors –who it has not given a buyout offer— against taking the deal with Diageo as an indicator of the market value of EABL’s shares, puncturing the optimism of a further price rally on the stock.
“The Diageo consideration does not represent, and should not be construed as, a direct price per share or valuation of the ordinary shares of EABL,” Asahi said in a public announcement.
“Caution should therefore be exercised against forced equivalence or direct look through in respect of the price for the ordinary shares of EABL.”
Asahi added that the purchase of EABL shares, which is being implemented indirectly through the investment vehicle Diageo Kenya, will come with additional commercial arrangements with the British multinational besides customary contractual protections.
After the close of the transaction, EABL will continue to manufacture and distribute the Guinness beer under long-term licensing agreements, while local brands such as Tusker beer and Kenya Cane will remain under the ownership of EABL.
The multinational will also renew agreements with EABL to produce certain Diageo spirits such as Smirnoff and Captain Morgan, and ready-to-drink brands such as Smirnoff Ice and Origin on licence terms.
For investors keeping an eye on dividends, the rally to Sh299.75 saw EABL’s trailing dividend yield fall to 2.66 percent, one of the lowest among blue-chip firms.
The company paid a dividend of Sh8 per share for the year ended June 2025.
The yield has now climbed to 3.14 percent after the fall in share price to Sh254.75, but this is still well below the risk free return of 9.2 percent available on the government’s one-year Treasury bill, and 7.72 percent on the 91-dayT-bill.
