CEMAC Says Castel Is Meeting Guinness Cameroon Commitments, but Gives No Progress Figures

The Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) says Castel is making strong progress on the commitments it made when it acquired Guinness Cameroon. Three years after approving the deal, however, neither regional regulators nor Boissons du Cameroun have released updated figures on investment, job creation or new production capacity.

On July 21, CEMAC and Cameroon’s competition authorities carried out their third annual review of the acquisition, which was approved in March 2023. The deal was cleared subject to a five-year roadmap that includes commitments to invest in industrial facilities, expand local production, strengthen the distribution network and create jobs.

The review team inspected the former Guinness brewery in Ndokoti, Douala, as well as facilities operated by Socaver, Boissons du Cameroun’s glass manufacturing subsidiary.

Following the inspection, Léopold Noël Boumsong, head of Cameroon’s National Competition Commission and chairman of CEMAC’s Community Competition Council, said the company was “ahead of schedule across its entire roadmap” and had exceeded its original commitments.

Positive Assessment, Few Numbers

Despite that assessment, neither the regulator nor the company released figures showing how much progress has been made. Boissons du Cameroun did not disclose total investment since 2023, the number of jobs created or retained, or the additional production capacity installed.

The company also provided no update on purchases from local suppliers or the progress of the different projects included in its original investment plan. When announcing the acquisition, Castel committed to investing CFA200 billion over five years. The program included three new production lines in Yaoundé, Garoua and Bafoussam, adding a combined annual capacity of 2.1 million hectoliters, as well as expanding Socaver’s facilities.

During the first annual review in 2024, the company said it had already invested CFA45 billion. Two years later, no updated investment figure was released following the latest inspection. Without those indicators, it is difficult to assess how much of the original program has been completed or measure its industrial and economic impact.

A Deal Worth Nearly CFA300 Billion

Diageo announced the sale of Guinness Cameroon to Castel in July 2022 for £389 million, or about CFA300 billion. The acquisition allows Castel, through Boissons du Cameroun, to produce and distribute Guinness brands in Cameroon under a licensing and royalty agreement with Diageo.

For CEMAC regulators, the transaction has also become a test case for the region’s merger control framework. CEMAC Commission President Seli Mbogo Ngabo described it as one of the first examples showing that the bloc’s merger oversight system is working effectively.

That conclusion is based on the five-year monitoring process imposed on Castel after the acquisition was approved. Under the agreement, the company must regularly report on its commitments to ensure the merger does not lead to lower investment, reduced local production or job losses.

However, the effectiveness of that oversight also depends on transparency. Neither the regulator nor the company published the annual targets assigned to Castel or the results verified during this year’s review.

Socaver Seen as a Regional Supply Hub

CEMAC also says the acquisition is strengthening industrial integration across Central Africa. Socaver now produces bottles, packaging and beverage crates supplied to neighboring Chad and the Central African Republic.

The expansion could reduce the region’s dependence on imported packaging and increase trade within CEMAC. However, neither production volumes nor export figures were disclosed. As a result, it remains impossible to measure Socaver’s contribution to Cameroon’s exports, Castel’s regional sales or the supply of the group’s breweries across Central Africa.

More Inspections Planned for 2027

The monitoring process will continue next year. Boissons du Cameroun CEO Stéphane Descazeaud said the next inspection will include the company’s production sites in Garoua and Yaoundé. The announcement, however, made no mention of the Bafoussam plant, even though it was included in the industrial expansion plan unveiled in 2023.

That omission does not necessarily mean the project has been dropped, but it leaves unanswered questions about its progress and construction timeline. Halfway through the five-year monitoring period, CEMAC says Castel is meeting—and even exceeding its commitments. Yet without updated performance data, that conclusion cannot be independently measured against the group’s original CFA200 billion investment plan.

B.E.