Diageo, a spirits conglomerate, is selling its majority shareholding in Guinness Ghana Plc to Castel Group for $81 million, the company has said on Tuesday.

Diageo is reevaluating its business operations in key markets as it struggles to return to pre-pandemic levels. In September 2024, Diageo sold its shareholding in Guinness Nigeria to Tolaram “to accelerate the growth Growth of Guinness in Nigeria”, preceded by a sale of Guinness Cameroon to Castel in July 2022. According to the company, Diageo will retain ownership of the Guinness brand, and other Diageo brands, including some spirit labels, produced by Guinness Ghana under a new long-term licence and royalty agreement.

Castel currently operates in 21 African countries since 1960s. The French spirits conglomerate boasts one of the largest distribution networks in Africa, with 640,000 points of sale, and represents 428 beverages consumed every second on the continent.