HEINEKEN : majority owned subsidiaries Nigerian Breweries plc and Consolidated Breweries plc issue notice of Extraordinary General Meeting regarding Scheme of Merger

Amsterdam, 31 October 2014 - Heineken N.V.'s (EURONEXT: HEIA; OTCQX: HEINY) ('HEINEKEN') majority owned Nigerian subsidiaries Consolidated Breweries plc and Nigerian Breweries plc have today sent notices of Extraordinary General Meetings to be held on 4 December 2014 (the "EGM") to their shareholders.

At the EGM's shareholders will vote on the proposal to combine the operations of Consolidated Breweries and Nigerian Breweries into a single legal entity effected through a Scheme of Merger. This will result in Nigerian Breweries being the combined named entity.

Requisite pre-merger approvals have already been received from the Nigerian Securities Exchange Commission. The directors of both companies are recommending the proposed merger to shareholders and are seeking their support and approval at the respective EGM's.

Until all statutory processes are completed, both companies (who are majority owned subsidiaries of Heineken NV) will continue to operate independently as usual.

Nigerian Breweries and Consolidated Breweries have today issued releases with respect to this announcement.

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Editorial information:
HEINEKEN is a proud, independent global brewer committed to surprise and excite consumers with its brands and products everywhere. The brand that bears the founder's family name - Heineken® - is available in almost every country on the globe and is the world's most valuable international premium beer brand. The Company's aim is to be a leading brewer in each of the markets in which it operates and to have the world's most valuable brand portfolio. HEINEKEN wants to win in all markets with Heineken® and with a full brand portfolio in markets of choice. The Company is present in over 70 countries and operates more than 165 breweries. HEINEKEN is Europe's largest brewer and the world's second largest by consolidated volume. HEINEKEN is committed to the responsible marketing and consumption of its more than 250 international premium, regional, local and specialty beers and ciders. These include Heineken®, Affligem, Amstel, Anchor, Biere Larue, Bintang, Birra Moretti, Cruzcampo, Desperados, Dos Equis, Foster's, Newcastle Brown Ale, Ochota, Primus, Sagres, Sol, Star, Strongbow, Tecate, Tiger and Zywiec. Our leading joint venture brands include Cristal and Kingfisher. The number of people employed is over 81,000. Heineken N.V. and Heineken Holding N.V. shares are listed on the NYSE Euronext in Amsterdam. Prices for the ordinary shares may be accessed on Bloomberg under the symbols HEIA NA and HEIO NA and on the Reuter Equities 2000 Service under HEIN.AS and HEIO.AS. HEINEKEN has two sponsored level 1 American Depositary Receipt (ADR) programmes: Heineken N.V. (OTCQX: HEINY) and Heineken Holding N.V. (OTCQX: HKHHY).
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This press release contains forward-looking statements with regard to the financial position and results of HEINEKEN's activities. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. Many of these risks and uncertainties relate to factors that are beyond HEINEKEN's ability to control or estimate precisely, such as future market and economic conditions, the behaviour of other market participants, changes in consumer preferences, the ability to successfully integrate acquired businesses and achieve anticipated synergies, costs of raw materials, interest-rate and exchange-rate fluctuations, changes in tax rates, changes in law, pension costs, the actions of government regulators and weather conditions. These and other risk factors are detailed in HEINEKEN's publicly filed annual reports. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are only relevant as of the date of this press release. HEINEKEN does not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of these statements. Market share estimates contained in this press release are based on outside sources, such as specialised research institutes, in combination with management estimates.