Guinness Anchor Berhad
Guinness Anchor Berhad (GAB) is a major producer of beer and stout in Malaysia and has been listed on the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia since 1965. Among the brands they produce and market are Tiger Beer, Guinness, Heineken, Anchor Smooth, Anchor Strong, Kilkenny, Anglia Shandy, Malta, Paulaner, Strongbow, and Sol.
GAB was incorporated on 24 January 1964 under the name of Guinness Malaysia Limited. The company changed its name to Guinness Malaysia Berhad on 15 April 1966 and assumed its present name on 15 November 1989. GAB evolved from the merger of Guinness Malaysia Berhad and Malayan Breweries (Malaya) Sdn Bhd ("MBM") in 1989, whose parent companies were Guinness Overseas Ltd and Malayan Breweries Ltd (the present Asia Pacific Breweries Limited) respectively. The merger in 1989 saw a new joint venture company, GAPL Pte Ltd as the holding company of GAB whilst MBM became a dormant wholly owned subsidiary of GAB.
On 7 October 2015, GAB announced that Heineken N.V. (“Heineken”) acquired the remaining shares owned by Diageo Plc in GAPL Pte Ltd ("GAPL"). Heineken N.V. now controls 100% of GAPL which holds 51% equity interest in GAB.
Consequently, on 15 March 2016 GAB had announced its intent to change its name from Guinness Anchor Berhad to Heineken Malaysia Berhad, to "reflect the corporate identity and branding of the Company and its relationship with the Heineken Group of companies. The proposed new name will also serve to further strengthen the Heineken brand proposition in Malaysia in that it will continue to leverage on the Heineken Group’s strong regional / global brand and core values".[1]
GAB operates the Sungai Way Brewery which started operations in 1965. Located in Selangor, the brewery occupies a land area of 23.72 acres (96,000 m2).