By Saabira Chaudhuri

Diageo PLC (DEO) on Wednesday said it has approached the board of Guinness Nigeria PLC (GUINNESS.LA) with an offer of about $208 million to increase its stake in the listed Nigerian company, which houses the spirits company's main beer brands in the country.

Diageo, the world's largest spirits maker, has offered to increase its stake in Guinness Nigeria, which houses brands like Guinness, Harp and Malt, to 70% from 54.3% as the company looks to wield more control over the business.

Diageo said it would launch a tender offer to buy shares in Guinness Nigeria from shareholders for a per-share price of 175 naira (about 88 cents) in cash, or a 40% premium to the company's closing price on Tuesday. The company said it could also look to acquire shares in the market for NGN175 a share or below.

Diageo's shares were up 2.6% in recent trading in London.

Write to Saabira Chaudhuri at saabira.chaudhuri@wsj.com

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 09, 2015 08:09 ET (12:09 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Grafico Azioni Diageo (LSE:DGE)
Storico
Da Lug 2024 a Ago 2024 Clicca qui per i Grafici di Diageo
Grafico Azioni Diageo (LSE:DGE)
Storico
Da Ago 2023 a Ago 2024 Clicca qui per i Grafici di Diageo