Our history
Our History
Champion Breweries Plc was established in Nigeria on July 31st 1974 as a State-owned commercial enterprise known as South East Breweries Ltd. It commenced brewing operations in 1976 and had its name later changed to Cross River Breweries Ltd.
In 1987, Akwa Ibom State Government became the sole owner and managed the brewery till September 1st 1992, when it was it was converted to a Public Limited Liability Company, and the name resultantly changed to Champion Breweries Plc.
In 1999, SONA Group became the majority shareholder of the company with allotted shares of 57%, while Akwa Ibom State and the Public held 8.4% and 34.6% of the shares respectively.
In 2010, Heineken NV bought 57% worth of SONA Group shares under a different name and transferred the management of the Company to an Operating Company (OpCo) under Heineken called Consolidated Breweries Plc. In January 2014, Consolidated Breweries Plc transferred its 57% equity value to Raysun Nigeria Limited (RNL), an entity fully owned by Heineken N. V.
Raysun Nigeria Limited increased its shares to 60.7%, while Asset Management had 12.3%; Akwa Ibom State Government 10%; and the Public 17% respectively.
In January 2021, Heineken increased its stake to 85% while Akwa Ibom State Government and the Public 10% and 5% of the shares respectively.
While ownership structure has changed over the years, Champion Breweries Plc is today under the technical supervision of its controlling shareholders, a global beverage giant Heineken NV, and this has put the Company in a stead to even surpass every previous achievement on sales, consumer satisfaction and community engagement.