International Breweries Plc, a prominent player in the Nigerian beverage sector and a member of the AB InBev group, has officially announced a proposed reorganisation of its share capital.

The strategic move aims to eliminate the company’s staggering N191.03bn in accumulated losses and pave the way for a return to dividend distributions.

In a corporate notice sent to the Nigerian Exchange Limited and obtained by The PUNCH, the brewer disclosed that despite a recent return to profitability, it remains legally unable to reward its shareholders due to the massive negative retained earnings sitting on its balance sheet from the 2025 financial year.

\To remedy the situation, International Breweries plans to deploy a portion of its Share Premium Account to absorb and completely wipe out the N191,032,749,000 accumulated loss.

According to the company, this bookkeeping adjustment will effectively restore its distributable reserves and re-establish its capacity to pay out dividends from future profits.

The company explicitly clarified that this exercise is a “reorganisation” rather than a reduction of capital, stressing that there will be absolutely no reduction in the total number of issued shares held by investors.

Furthermore, once the accumulated losses are eliminated, the board intends to execute a secondary reorganisation of the Share Premium Account. This phase will enable the company to return excess capital directly to its shareholders. The cash payout will be distributed on a pro-rata basis to investors who qualify based on a cut-off date to be determined by the Board of Directors.

The transaction is being executed pursuant to Section 131 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020. However, the capital shakeup is not yet a done deal. It remains subject to regulatory approvals, formal confirmation by the Federal High Court, and a crucial vote by the company’s shareholders at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.

In the statement signed by the Company Secretary and General Counsel, Temitope Oluwatosin, the brewer noted that a detailed Explanatory Note outlining the full mechanics of the capital reorganisation will be distributed to shareholders ahead of the AGM.

Meanwhile, management has urged the public to tread carefully in the equities market regarding the company’s stock.

“The investing public is advised to exercise caution when dealing in the shares of the Company,” the statement concluded.