Guinness maker Diageo sells stakes to Heineken for $780.5m

Pictured are Guinness brewers Fedora Heavey (left) Peter Simpson and Luis Ortega announcing the release of Hop House 13, a double-hopped lager made from Irish barley and aromatic hops

Diageo, the world's largest spirits company, said it had sold its stakes in Jamaican brewer Desnoes & Geddes Ltd and GAPL Pte Ltd, the majority owner of Malaysia's Guinness Anchor Berhad, to Heineken NV for $780.5 million.

The transaction also includes Diageo's acquisition of a 20 percent stake in Guinness Ghana Breweries from the Dutch brewer, raising Diageo's total stake in GGBL to 72.42 percent.