Jabre Capital Partners founder Philippe Jabre is an experienced businessman and asset management expert. In 2021, Mr Jabre announced that he had acquired Almaza, a leading Lebanese brewery historically co-founded by his family almost a hundred years ago. For the past two decades, the iconic company had been majority owned and successfully operated by the multinational giant Heineken.
In a 2022 interview with L’Orient Le Jour, Mr Jabre conceded that until then, it had never occurred to him to regain control of the brewery. However, the previous year he learned that Heineken considered to disengage from control, potentially risking the prestigious Lebanese brewery’s closure. Philippe Jabre hired a team to investigate the situation.
Studying the company’s fundamentals, Philippe Jabre’s primary objective was to ascertain whether the business was commercially viable. Despite the family ties, Mr Jabre’s primary motivations in acquiring a controlling stake were not just sentimental. Management of Almaza remained sound, with the brewery retaining its position as a market leader both within Lebanon and abroad and its operations remaining efficient with no need for restructuring.
At the time, Heineken faced significant difficulties in Lebanon because it struggled to freely convert a portion of its income into dollars to pay its foreign bills. Multinationals operating in Lebanon were forced to transmit funds via institutions approved by the Central Bank of Lebanon. This policy led to many multinational organisations with interests in the country opting to give up control of the companies established in Lebanon in which they had invested.
From a personal perspective, Mr Jabre concedes that recovering a prestigious brewery like Almaza at such a critical moment in the country’s history represents an extraordinary personal challenge as an asset manager. Through his actions, however, there is a more poignant message he seeks to convey. Though Lebanon is currently experiencing a very serious crisis, it is not the first or the worst it has known, even in recent history.
During the Lebanese Civil War, the Almaza factory found itself on one of the dividing lines drawn between the different parties. Despite violent fighting and severe economic and security difficulties, the brand still lives on and has value. Mr Jabre pledges to continue this legacy for years to come.
Supporting over 170 direct and skilled jobs in addition to dozens of ancillary roles, the brewery benefits from a streamlined management and staff, its teams well trained by Heineken, as Philippe Jabre points out. Most of Almaza’s activities are centralised on the Dora site, with the brand producing up to 160,000 hectolitres of beer annually, all labels combined. By comparison, the entire beer production of Tunisia stands at just 220,000 litres per year.
Acquiring a majority stake in the Almaza brewery and brand, Philippe Jabre took stewardship of a quintessential Lebanese brewery, bringing it back into the family’s control almost 90 years after its foundation. Heineken Group remains a minority shareholder in Almaza, providing continued access to both international brands and technical expertise.
A successful and resilient business, Almaza has weathered the prevailing economic headwinds in Lebanon well, with Mr Jabre’s move to acquire majority control of the company helping to secure a sustainable long-term future for the brewery and all its employees.
