East African Breweries Limited (EABL) has asked Chief Justice Martha Koome to intervene in the growing number of court battles surrounding the planned Sh340 billion sale of British multinational Diageo’s entire 65 percent stake in the regional brewer, as well as its holding in spirits maker UDV Kenya, to Japanese beverage firm Asahi Group Holdings.
EABL warned that parallel cases and conflicting court orders risk creating uncertainty over one of the largest corporate transactions in the region.
It added that the situation could undermine investor confidence and damage perceptions of Kenya’s judicial and regulatory predictability.
In a letter dated June 23, 2026, EABL’s lawyers, Iseme, Kamau and Maema Advocates, urged the Chief Justice to take administrative measures to coordinate multiple court cases challenging the transaction.
The brewer said a series of proceedings filed in different High Court stations had created a risk of conflicting decisions by courts of concurrent jurisdiction over the same deal.
The dispute centres on the proposed sale of 65 percent of shares held by the United Kingdom’s Diageo PLC in EABL to Japan’s Asahi Group Holdings, a transaction valued at about $2.3 billion (Sh340 billion). Under the deal, Asahi would take full control of Diageo Kenya Limited, the investment vehicle through which the British firm holds its EABL stake.
The Japanese company would also acquire Diageo’s 53.68 percent stake in UDV Kenya. EABL holds the remaining shares in UDV Kenya and also retains management control of the unit.
EABL told the Chief Justice that several attempts to stop the transaction had already been rejected by the High Court in Nairobi.
The company cited a ruling delivered on April 9 in a case filed by beer distributor Bia Tosha Distributors Limited, in which the court declined to issue orders stopping completion of the transaction.
It also referred to a June 18 decision in which the High Court dismissed an application by JILK Construction Company and others seeking to halt the sale.
According to EABL, another Nairobi court on June 22 declined to grant interim orders in a separate application, instead holding that public interest favoured allowing the transaction to proceed.
However, the company noted that on June 18-the same day the JILK application was dismissed in Nairobi-a fresh petition filed in Machakos resulted in conservatory orders stopping implementation of the deal.
In that case, petitioner Christine Irungu obtained interim orders restraining Diageo, EABL and Asahi from completing or giving effect to the transaction pending further directions from the court.
EABL said it was not challenging the jurisdiction of the Machakos court or the merits of the petition before it. Instead, it raised concern over what it termed forum shopping and fragmented judicial handling of the matter.
‘They added that such filings ‘amount to a clear abuse of the court process and offend the principle of judicial comity between courts of concurrent jurisdiction.’
The company further argued that the conservatory orders were issued ex-parte and had the effect of halting a transaction expected to generate Sh42 billion in capital gains tax revenue for the government.
They warned that continued uncertainty could affect shareholders, employees, suppliers, distributors and investors, while also raising concerns about the predictability of Kenya’s legal and regulatory framework.