The SAB Zenzele Kabili scheme will be initially available to existing Zenzele beneficiaries.
For existing SAB Zenzele shareholders, the company is allowing shareholders to reinvest a portion, (a minimum of 63.5%) or all of of their remaining entitlements into the Zenzele Kabili scheme when it lists on 28 May. They will get an exposure around three times the cash they put in, thanks to vendor funding and loan funding backing their purchases.
Post the 28 May listing on the JSE, any qualifying person in terms of the B-BBEE Act will be able to buy shares in SAB Zenzele Kabili.
“The public will be able to trade on an ongoing basis. Ideally, we would want participants to stay invested to allow time for the underlying asset being AB InBev shares to appreciate in value and allow time for the debt to be serviced and reduce, thereby improving the value. The scheme is perpetual and will remain listed indefinitely,” SAB told Business Insider South Africa.
“The public will be able to exit based on what the market is willing to pay for their shares on exit – on a willing buyer/ willing seller basis. Ideally, value is generated over time and positive company results of the world’s largest beermaker AB InBev,” the company said.
Employees of SAB will have to wait five years before being able to trade.
How to buy shares
Qualifying individuals can buy shares through a JSE broker or their bank’s share trading platform.
The scheme, which will remain listed indefinitely, will be brokered by Investec. I can be contacted on 0861 900 903 once the company lists.
SAB Zenzele Kabili officially lists on JSE
CIARAN RYAN: South African Breweries has finally reached a much-anticipated milestone, as SAB Zenzele Kabili listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange on May 28, 2026. You might be wondering what SAB Zenzele Kabili is? Well, this is a follow-up to SAB Zenzele, which was the largest broad-based black economic empowerment scheme in South African history which has just been closed out, having created R9.7 billion in value for shareholders. Its replacement scheme is called SAB Zenzele Kabili, which is part of SAB’s vision to foster innovation and stimulate transformation in the country by creating a platform for ownership and build a financial legacy for generations to come.
SAB Zenzele Kabili owns R5.4 billion worth of shares in AB InBev, the world’s largest beer maker. It was listed on the broad-based black economic empowerment section of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange on May 28. One aim of this listing is to broaden ownership.
Joining us to discuss this and what it means for the future is Duncan Pask, company secretary at SAB. Duncan, thanks very much for joining us. The SAB Zenzele Kabili share scheme has just been listed on the JSE. So, let’s go back to the beginning. What is SAB Zenzele Kabili?
DUNCAN PASK: Ciaran, SAB Zenzele Kabili is the new BEE scheme of South African Breweries and, as you said, it has R5.4 billion worth of AB InBev shares, AB InBev being the world’s largest beer maker. It listed on Friday. We’re very excited about the listing. It is now open to trade for all qualifying participants.
Any qualifying person in terms of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act will be able to trade in those shares from Friday; they will share in the value that’s generated by our beers that are sold across the globe.
The share price of the company you’re buying as SAB Zenzele Kabili is determined on a ‘willing buyer, willing seller’ basis on the JSE. We’re encouraging shareholders to join us for the long-term value growth that will be created. It’s a time when drinking a Castle pays dividends at the end of the day. [Ciaran chuckles.] We are really excited about it.
CIARAN RYAN: All right. So just explain who may participate in the scheme. It’s open to a broader number of participants than was the earlier scheme – is that right?
DUNCAN PASK: We’ve moved away from a closed scheme that involved only our retailers and our employees and our foundation. Now any qualifying person in terms of the Broad-Based Black Empowerment Act can buy shares in SAB Zenzele Kabili. There is no closing period for participation. You can buy shares today, you can buy shares tomorrow, you can buy next month – and you can buy next year. It’s a listed company. You can come and join us whenever you feel that the time is right.
CIARAN RYAN: Okay. So, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty. How do you buy these shares?
DUNCAN PASK: Qualifying persons can buy shares through an existing trading platform. If they already have a trading platform through the large banks or through a JSE broker. You will still have to verify yourself as a qualifying person by completing a supporting affidavit and supplying the bank or broker with a certified copy of your ID.
CIARAN RYAN: Okay. Just to be clear, this is a broad-based black economic empowerment scheme, so one of the qualifying criteria is that you must be a black person as defined by the law in South Africa.
DUNCAN PASK: One hundred percent. Yes, you have to meet the qualifying criteria. That is a key entry point, whether you’re accessing via your own broker, or you are using our nominee service.
CIARAN RYAN: All right. We were talking there about how one can actually purchase the shares. So, you can go through your broker, you can go through your bank, which has share-purchase facilities. Are there any other ways that you can acquire these shares?
DUNCAN PASK: If you don’t have access to an existing trading platform, you can contact us and utilise our nominee service through Computershare. Computershare has a website you can access, or you can call them on 0861 100 937and open an ‘easy account’. The easy account doesn’t attract any monthly fees and you pay only when you trade. So, it’s a real low-entry point of access for people who don’t have existing trading platforms. You will still need to complete the supporting documentation and sign the custody account agreement. Unfortunately, there is a fair bit of paperwork involved, which is a requirement of law. We’ve tried to make it as easy as practically possible to access, but we have to be guided by legislation at the end of the day.
CIARAN RYAN: Okay. So, the shares were listed just a few days ago on the stock exchange. Tell us how things have been going. What is the price now, today?
DUNCAN PASK: There’s fantastic interest from the qualifying public. We listed at an initial price of R40/share. It’s currently trading at R150/share. So, it has more than tripled in the past three days. But we’re not asking people to be short-term investors here. It has created fantastic value over a very short time, but we are looking for long-term investors, people who believe in this beer business and who are going to be with us for a while. That’s where we really see true value being created. It is for the long haul. The better we do as a global business, AB InBev, and as a local business, SAB, we feel that there’s a real upside to be had and we can substantiate that price over the long term, we hope.
CIARAN RYAN: I think it’s probably worth pointing out that the previous scheme – which was called SAB Zenzele – created nearly R10 billion worth of value for the participants in that scheme. That was a long-term scheme as well.
DUNCAN PASK: SAB Zenzele was a 10-year transaction and in total, we created just over R13 billion for our 42 000 beneficiaries; that included dividend flows. The idea is to stick with us for a while. You don’t get rich overnight in equity investing. It’s about coming in, joining us for the ride, enjoying the dividends that we hope to declare biannually, and being with us for the long haul to create real value. So that’s why, for example, our employees [in the earlier scheme] are able to trade their participation rights in the scheme only after five years, because we believe at a minimum, they should be in for five years; ideally, they should be in for 10 years to create real value growth over a sustained period that really changes people’s lives and creates true value that they can use to change their lives or that of their families.
CIARAN RYAN: Right. And of course, they are investing in the largest beer maker in the world. This is a global business.
DUNCAN PASK: Exactly. And they share in that value created when beers are sold across the globe when you buy a Budweiser in New York or a Stella Artois in Brussels or a Corona in Mexico City – or even a Black Label in Johannesburg. You share in that value creation, and that’s a journey we want you to join us on. We believe we create true value over time, and that’s what we’re working towards.
We’re a business that believes in the principle of ownership. Ownership is a critical methodology that we use in this business, which we communicate to our employees.
It’s really about taking things personally, taking results personally, taking managing costs personally, spending money as if it were your own, and getting a real sense of ownership, and that SAB Zenzele Kabili is delivering that to our employees. It’s delivering that to our existing retailer shareholders, our bottle-store owners, our taverners – and we hope that the public will take on the mantra that they are real owners in this business and share in that value. So, when they’re drinking a Castle, and they’re sitting at the pub enjoying a Castle, they can tell their friends, “Look, I’m drinking this beer and I’m enjoying it. And I’m sharing in that value growth as I sit here.”
So that is something we hope people will get a sense of when they join SAB Zenzele Kabili.
CIARAN RYAN: So, you’re a customer of the company if you drink their beers – and you’re also an owner, which is the right way to be.
We’ve had a lot of queries from Moneyweb readers about this scheme. One of the questions – and we’ve had a huge response to this particular campaign – is whether there’s a minimum investment required. We’ve already said that the shares were listed at R40. They’re now trading at R150, so you’re going to have to buy in at whatever is the prevailing price. But is there a minimum amount that people have to invest?
DUNCAN PASK: Ciaran, from a trading platform perspective, some of the banks have limitations that they set for customers to have [on] those share-trading platforms. You can only hold a share-trading platform if you invest a minimum rand value – that’s why we’ve also created the mechanism through Computershare, our nominee service, to allow people to trade at whatever the prevailing price was. So, if you’d joined us on Friday last week, you could have bought one share at R40 – and that’s all you had to contribute. At the moment it’s slightly higher, at R150. But again, if you have only R150 this month, then go and buy one share through the nominee service. And then, if you have another R150 next month, go and buy another. The point is there’s no closing period. If the share price is lower in a year’s time, then good luck to you, or it could be higher at that point.
No one can really tell us where that’s heading, but the point is that there is no closing time. You don’t have to get your applications in now to be part of this scheme; you can join us whenever you want to. We would encourage you to join us through our nominee service, just because it’s an easy entry point with low fees. But if you have that access to an existing broker or share-trading platform, you are more than welcome to utilise those sorts of services to get access.
It’s a bit of a chore getting all the documents required. We’ve tried to simplify them as much as possible, but we would ask the public just to do the homework once-off; then ideally, they’re in and they’re part of this journey with us.
CIARAN RYAN: Okay. Final question here. Where can people go for more information?
DUNCAN PASK: They can join our social media channels, our SAB social media channels Twitter and Facebook, or they can call us at our call centre at 0861 100 937 and we will be able to assist them wherever possible.
CIARAN RYAN: Right. I’ve also got an email address here – sabkabili@computershare.co.za. And that number again, if you want to call the call centre is 0861 100 937.