Meta Abo is the third brewery for sale by the Ethiopian government after Bedele and Harar were sold two breweries to Heineken.

British, Dutch and South African breweries are putting bids for Meta Abo, an Ethiopian brewery which brews the Meta Abo beer. Meta Abo is located 20km west of Addis Ababa.

The government of Ethiopia has not yet revealed how much it is demanding for Meta Abo but the bids will close on September 3.

Meta Abo brewery has 30 million dollars worth of assets according to the Privatisation and Public Enterprise Supervision Authority.

Heineken, the leading Dutch brewer, had just completed last week the acquisition of Bedele and Harar breweries from the government of Ethiopia for 163 million dollars after winning a public auction.

Heineken's bid to buy Bedele and Harar for 85.24 million dollars and 78.18 million dollars respectively was approved in April, according to the Ethiopian Privatisation and Public Enterprise Supervision Authority.

Heineken won the bid for Harar Brewery without competition while it had to contend against three competitive bids for Bedele.

Heineken beat the 70 million dollar bid from South-West Development had put a US$70 million bid, BGI (US$68 million) and Carlsberg (US$64 million).

Heineken said it would continue to brew local brands such as Bedele, Harar and Hakim Stout, whose combined market share is 18 percent.

The breweries have a total capacity of about 15 million gallons a year.
Ethiopia’s beer market has been growing by at least 20 percent a year over the last five years.

Source: The Africa Report