Why trust is the real work of any acquisition.
The acquisition of Seychelles Breweries by Phoenix Beverages Ltd (PBL) was part of a direction the company has been building towards for several years: moving from a Mauritius-based business with regional interests into a truly Indian Ocean beverage group.
The case for Seychelles Breweries was compelling from the get-go. As a business, it is resilient, anchored in a tourism-driven economy with a growing middle class and the kind of local brand loyalty that takes decades to build. For PBL, it also added an important third market alongside Mauritius and Réunion, strengthening the Group’s presence across the Indian Ocean.
But acquiring a business is only the beginning. The real work starts afterwards.
For many companies, integration is where acquisitions become difficult. The instinct is often to impose, to standardise too quickly, to assume that what works at home will work elsewhere.
PBL has taken a more phased approach. Year one has been focused mainly on building trust: understanding the SeyBrew business, working with its team, taking the time to learn before acting. “We came in with humility, not a playbook,” explains Bernard Theys,
Chief Executive Officer at PBL.
From the second year onwards, PBL expects to build more tangible synergies in areas such as procurement, technical expertise, and commercial best practices.
For PBL, a central question is what needs to be standardised, and what stays local. Processes, governance frameworks, safety standards, financial systems – the architecture of a business – benefit from consistency. Brand identity, marketing, product formulations, and community relationships (the things a consumer actually sees and feels)
Operating across markets also creates opportunities. Shared forecasting and joint procurement can help reduce costs. Commercial insights can be exchanged across teams rather than built separately in each country. Coordinated innovation pipelines accelerate time-to-market for new products. And a talent mobility framework that offers regional career paths rather than island-bound ones makes PBL a more attractive and resilient employer.
On top of this, PBL’s partnership with The Coca-Cola Company in Mauritius and Réunion gives its portfolio the strength of one of the world’s most recognised beverage brands, makes fuller use of its production and distribution infrastructure, and reinforces its credibility with international partners.
Together, these developments position PBL as a regional operator with the ability to work across
multiple markets, rather than as a collection of local businesses.
It’s important to remember that cultural proximity can be misleading. “The assumption that neighbouring islands are naturally alike is simply wrong. Each has its own pace, communication norms, and definition of professionalism and belonging,” explains Patrice Sheik Bajeet, Senior Marketing Manager at PBL. Acknowledging those differences, rather than assuming a generic “island culture”, is critical.
This acquisition also says something about the way PBL approaches growth. Beyond the strategic fit, its success will depend on the quality of the relationship between the teams: the trust between them, the way they work together, and their ability to align around shared objectives. Synergies, integration and performance all become easier when that foundation
is in place.
Artist
Born in Malaysia in 1937, Michael Adams studied art in England before founding the Graphic Design Department at Makerere University in Uganda and later establishing himself as a freelance artist across East Africa. Internationally acclaimed, he has exhibited in numerous countries and completed a wide range of artistic commissions. His work is deeply inspired by the beauty of the Seychelles, where he has lived since 1972. In 2001, he was awarded the Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his contribution to the arts.
This article is illustrated with works depicting the Seybrew factory, which he created in the 1970s and which were later acquired by Seybrew.
Discover more about his creative world: www.michaeladamsart.com
