Singapore's wealthy Aswani family is still buying Guinness Nigeria shares after a $343 million gain

The Singaporean family that acquired a controlling stake in Guinness Nigeria from Diageo two years ago is still adding to the position, and it now sits on a paper gain of roughly $343 million.

N-Seven Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of Tolaram, bought 550,092 ordinary shares in Guinness Nigeria on Friday, Aug. 28, according to a share dealing notification the brewer filed with the Nigerian Exchange on Monday. The purchases ran across 25 separate lots at prices from 356.40 naira to 384.80, with 90.7% of the volume executed at the top of that range.

The total outlay was about 210.87 million naira, roughly $152,000 at 1,390 naira to the dollar, at a volume-weighted average of 383.34 naira. The filing states an average share price of 367.40 naira, which is the simple mean of the 25 line prices rather than the price actually paid.

The addition is small against what the family already owns. N-Seven held 1,552,042,799 shares at the end of December, or 70.86% of Guinness Nigeria, and the purchase lifts that to about 1,552,592,891. At 384.80 naira, that holding is worth roughly 597 billion naira, about $430 million.

Tolaram paid far less for it. Diageo agreed in June 2024 to sell its 58.02% stake at 81.60 naira a share, a 63% premium to the 30-day volume-weighted average price at the time, for approximately $70 million. The transaction completed on Sept. 30, 2024. Tolaram then launched a mandatory offer to minority shareholders at the same 81.60 naira in March 2025, acquiring a further 281,099,431 shares for about $17 million and taking the holding to 70.86%.

Total investment across both stages was roughly $87 million.

The buying comes as the shares retreat. Guinness Nigeria traded at 462.90 naira on April 10, when the family's position was worth about $497 million. At the prices paid last Friday, the stock is roughly 17% below that.

Tolaram is not a newcomer to Nigeria. The Singapore-headquartered group has operated on the continent for five decades and is best known there for Indomie, the instant noodle brand that dominates the Nigerian market. It describes itself as one of the largest consumer packaged goods companies in Africa.

Sajen Aswani is Tolaram's chief executive. Haresh Aswani runs Tolaram Africa. Harkishin Aswani sits on the Guinness Nigeria board as vice chairman and non-executive director, alongside Deepak Singhal, and both are identified in the brewer's accounts as Tolaram representatives.

Sajen Aswani said when the deal was announced that the partnership built on decades of presence in Nigeria and reflected the group's optimism about opportunities across the continent. Haresh Aswani called it a pivotal moment in Tolaram's growth and diversification.

Diageo has kept ownership of the Guinness brand and licensed it to Guinness Nigeria under long-term licence and royalty agreements, remaining as technical partner and adviser under the transition arrangements. It framed the sale as consistent with an asset-light beer operating model, and retained its wholly owned international premium spirits business in the country.

Girish Sharma became managing director on completion, and the board was reconstituted the same day.

The brewer has returned to profit and resumed dividends. A distribution declared this year delivered about $6.5 million to Tolaram from its majority stake, and combined with an earlier interim dividend of 2 naira a share, the group has collected roughly $8.4 million, about 11.4 billion naira.