Bill Gates Acquires Minority Stakes Worth $902 Million In Heineken, Despite Not Being Fond Of Beer

Bill gates have purchased a minority stake in Heineken Holding NV. the acquisition has made him the controlling shareholder of the world’s largest brewery accounting for 902 million USD. 

The founder of Microsoft has acquired a 3.8 percent stake in Heineken Holding. The information has been revealed by a Dutch regulator AFM. Bill Gates has purchased 6.65 million shares in Heineken holdings in his capacity. In addition, he has purchased 4.18 million units through Bill and Melinda Gates Trust Foundation.

The shares purchased by him of the units are valued at 902 million USD. It has been revealed by valid sources. Bill Gates acquired a stake in the largest brewery company on the same day when Fomento Ecobomico Mexicano SAB launched a 3.7 million Euros stock and equity share. The sale is linked to the holdings in Heineken. Femsa is a Mexico-based Coco Cola bottler company and an operator in a convenience store. The company has announced letting go of its Heineken stake after a review.

Femsa has stated that the company has fastened the bookbuild offering of its stakes of 1.9 billion euros per share in Heineken, and each unit was priced at 91 Euros, and 1.3 billion shares in the Heineken holding were sold for 75 euros each.

At the same time, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has invested in Picnic BV, which is a Dutch online Grocer, and the company holds a stake in 1.34 percent stake in the Dutch fertilizer-producing company, named OCI NV.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Trust Foundation has been the largest powerhouse in the nonprofit world. It has 1800 employees in the workforce and has spent 800 billion USD since 2000. 

Heineken and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has declined to comment on the matter.

Bill Gates’ dominance fueled by another acquisition:

Bill Gates has been listed among the richest people in the world for a while. According to Forbes’ real-time billionaire list as of December 19, Bill Gates’s net worth is $104.2 billion. He comes in at number six. Except for 2010 and 2013, Gates held the title of the richest person in the world from 1995 until 2017. Jeff Bezos surpassed Bill Gates to claim the title of the world’s richest person in 2017. Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT), which Gates co-founded in 1975, is what made Bill Gates one of the wealthiest people on the planet. The market value of Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) is currently $1.8 trillion.

Bill Gates finances several emerging businesses that are attempting to address some of the most pressing issues facing the planet. Bill Gates has made climate change a priority over the past few years, and as a result, the energy sector makes up the majority of his startup investments.

Bill Gates has asserted his dominance in the list of richest men in the world for the past years because of the power of his acquisitions. Microsoft, like any other tech company, has made many acquisitions.

Of, HotMail was the most hyped and the most high-profile one in the 1990s, while Skype seemed to be a poor acquisition, but the constant development has worked out successfully in Microsoft Teams. They have purchased stakes in many companies, including Comcast, AT&T, Audible, etc.

Bill gates have previously acquired stakes at Microsoft Corporation, Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Canadian National Railway, Deere and Co., Waste Management Inc., Republic Services Inc., and EcoLab Inc.

The acquisition in stakes of Heineken implies that Gates is proceeding toward the brewery industry. This is not the first time. Gates has previously invested in Hampton Creek Foods, which is a startup company that works on plant protein-based egg substitutes.

Heineken, the second-largest brewing industry, has generated massive revenue and showcased an increase in profits despite Europe’s weak economic condition. It has been reported that the profit levels are higher than what was recorded in 2022. The Chief Executive has addressed the matter stating that the beer sales in Europe are resilient with the rise in revenue for the fourth quarter. But, the company still expects a decline in sales from Europe in 2023.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which the billionaire and his ex-wife, Melinda French Gates, established decades ago, provided funding for a study about the health risks of alcohol consumption that was released last July. According to the study, “stronger interventions” are required, especially for younger people, to lessen the significant global health loss related to alcohol.

The request for comment from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation was not immediately answered.

However, the Microsoft co-founder has previously made a beer company investment.

Long before his Reddit post and the health study, in 2007, Gates invested $392 million in Femsa, one of the biggest breweries in Mexico.

Edited by Prakriti Arora