Court declines Bia Tosha’s bid to stop sale of Ksh300B EABL shares
By Zipporah Ngwatu, June 2, 2026The East African Breweries PLC has secured a win after a Milimani High Court declined to issue orders that would have stopped completion of the proposed Diageo–Asahi transaction.
Bia Tosha, through a second application dated May 4, 2026, sought orders halting the proposed Ksh300 billion acquisition of Diageo PLC’s controlling stake in East African Breweries Limited (EABL) by Japanese brewing giant Asahi Group Holdings.
Judge Gregory Mutai on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, dismissed Bia Tosha’s latest application with costs, finding that the company had already chosen to seek relief from the Court of Appeal.
“The application dated May 4, 2026 by Bia Tosha is in my view without merit. The same is hereby dismissed with costs to the respondents including EABL, KBL and Diageo PLC,” Judge Mutai ruled.
Detailed ruling
In his detailed ruling, Judge Mutai has stated that after Judge Mwamuye’s ruling, Bia Tosha had sought directions from the High Court before electing to pursue conservatory orders before the Court of Appeal.
In addition, Justice Mutai noted the petitioner then opted to file an application for conservatory orders at the Court of Appeal.
However, he stated that even though the application was certified urgent no conservatory orders were issued.
Bia Tosha argued that its latest application was not a repeat of a matter already decided and maintained that completion of the transaction would render any judgment hollow and unenforceable.
However, lawyers representing EABL, Kenya Breweries Limited (KBL), UDV (Kenya) Limited, and Diageo PLC vehemently opposed the renewed application.
“The Applicant cannot sit on its rights and later ask the Court to treat its own delay as an emergency. That is not the basis upon which conservatory orders are granted,” EABL lawyers submitted.
Judge Mutai found that while both courts have jurisdiction, they cannot exercise it concurrently over the same dispute.
The judge has stated that granting the orders would amount to the High Court supervising the appellate court.
The main petition will be mentioned on July 2, 2026.