Heineken and Diageo brewery in South Africa

Drinks giant and Dutch brewer Heineken agreed to strengthen their ties in South Africa and take on dominant domestic brewer SABMiller by building a brewery there by the end of next year. Diageo, which makes Guinness beer and Smirnoff vodka, and...

Drinks giant and Dutch brewer Heineken agreed to strengthen their ties in South Africa and take on dominant domestic brewer SABMiller by building a brewery there by the end of next year.

Diageo, which makes Guinness beer and Smirnoff vodka, and Heineken, famed for its eponymous lager and Amstel, said they planned to build a brewery in the Gauteng province around Johannesburg and already had two sites under consideration.

The new brewery will be 75 per cent owned by Heineken and 25 per cent by Diageo and have an initial capacity of 3 million hectolitres.

It will produce Amstel, Guinness and Windhoek beers and also "ready-to-drink" Smirnoff Ice-like products.

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