Bill Gates buys Heineken stake, despite saying he's 'not a big beer drinker' (updated)
22/02/2023 13:53
(Updates with details, background)
AMSTERDAM, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Bill Gates has bought
3.76% stake in Dutch drinks giant Heineken Holding NV HEIO.AS ,
although the billionaire founder of Microsoft has previously
said he was "not a big beer drinker."
The filing by the Netherlands' Financial Markets Authority
(AFM) said the shares were purchased on Feb. 17. Heineken
Holding owns a controlling stake in brewer Heineken NV
HEIN.AS .
Gates purchased the shares from Mexico's FEMSA, which is
selling out of the brewing company.
A separate filing also dated Feb. 17 showed FEMSA sold all
18 million shares it held in Heineken Holding. Gates purchased
10.8 million shares, worth 883 million euros ($939.87 million)
at current market prices, triggering a disclosure requirement
under Dutch stock market rules.
In a 2018 "Ask Me Anything" chat session on Reddit, Gates
said he was "not a big beer drinker."
"When I end up at something like a baseball game I drink
light beer to get with the vibe of all the other beer drinkers.
Sorry to disappoint real beer drinkers."
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the charitable
foundation launched by the billionaire and his former wife,
wasn't immediately available for comment.
($1 = 0.9395 euros)
(Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Jan Harvey)
((toby.sterling@thomsonreuters.com;))