Mexico City — Fomento Económico Mexicano (FEMSA) (FEMSAUBD), a Mexican retail conglomerate and Coca-Coca bottling company, has completed the sale of almost all its shares in Heineken, the world’s second-largest brewer, as part of a restructuring of its portfolio that the company had announced in February.
The company received $6.85 billion euros (around $7.48 billion) for the shares, according to the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV).
FEMSA has allocated a portion of these resources from the sale to improve its debt profile. In March it repurchased a portion of its bonds totaling $1.09 billion and 666 million euros.
How many shares does FEMSA hold in Heineken?
If at the end of 2022, FEMSA had a 14.76% interest in Heineken, after the February and May sales, which together accounted for a 13.85% stake, that interest was reduced to 0.91%.
In order to dispose of this interest, FEMSA made a couple of share offerings and also issued bonds exchangeable for shares.
The 5,228,758 common shares still held by FEMSA will be used to cover the obligations it acquired through the placement of bonds exchangeable for shares.
“In the event that any remaining shares remain after the bond placement obligations have been satisfied, the Company will in the future sell such remaining shares, either periodically or in a single transaction, in such manner as FEMSA’s officers may elect,” said the company.
Why did FEMSA sell its shares in Heineken?
FEMSA announced in February its intentions to divest its stake in Heineken following a strategic analysis of its business that it initiated in July 2022 to enhance value in the face of what it considers to be an imbalance between the company’s intrinsic value and its share price on the market.
The analysis considered the review of each of the businesses to determine the best structure for the conglomerate.
The decision was made “after thoroughly analyzing our business platforms, including their strategic opportunities, long-term plans, and the best strategy to continue to drive growth and capital allocation going forward,” said José Antonio Fernández Carbajal, chairman of FEMSA’s board of directors, in a statement in February.
The sale of its Heineken shares was one of the conclusions of the review. The move also implied the departure of FEMSA’s nominee directors from Heineken’s boards.
FEMSA was a major shareholder of Heineken, with a 14.76% stake in the brewer, according to its website, following the sale of Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma.
The Mexican company obtained a 20% stake in Heineken from that operation, but over the years it divested part of its shareholding.