MCB Refinances $51M to Tolaram’s Debt to Allow Expansion of Guinness Nigeria

On 8 September 2026, the Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB) announced that it managed to advantageously refinance the debt of Tolaram, which was applied in the acquisition of Guinness Nigeria. MCB taiilored the loan facility by shifting to a longer-term debt profile to free up working capital for expansion.

“MCB played an important role in refinancing the short-term loan into a longer tenure to allow the upgrading of real industrial capacity.”

Tolaram CFO Rahul Somani

Tolaram is a conglomerate headquartered in Singapore which started out as a textile retailer in Indonesia. Indonesian roots and ranks of one of Africa’s leading business groups with activities spanning FMCG, industrial development, and FinTech,

Perhaps, Tolaram is best known through Indomie, the globally well-known instant noodle brand. Tolaram is also involved in the development of the Lekki Free Zone, where the Guinness Nigeria plant is located.

In June 2024, through its subsidiary N-Seven Nigeria, Tolaram struck a deal to purchase Diageo’s controlling 58% stake in Guinness Nigeria. Diageo offered an enticing premium of 63% for a price tag of USD 70 million, Since the acquistion completed in October 2024, Tolaram has since increased its shareholding to 70.9%. Listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, the stock price of Guinness Nigeria (NGX: GUINNESS) has grown more than five times than the original outlay by Tolaram.

Tolaram is quite satistifed with this investment as Guinness Nigeria reported a 1H26 EBIT of NGN 25.3 billion ($19M). On the other hand, MCB views this transaction as a milestone in its providing capital to support the robust growth across key African markets and anticipates a greater role in directing financial flows between the two dynamic regions of Asia and Africa.