Who owns Star?
Star, a drinks brand, is owned by Heineken (the Netherlands, AEX: HEIA) through its subsidiary Nigerian Breweries.[1]
Heineken owns 72.9% of Nigerian Breweries rather than all of it.
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Evidence: Nigerian Breweries Plc 2025 Annual Report and Accounts. Last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- Heineken N.V. via Nigerian Breweries reported
- Owner HQ
- 🇳🇱 Netherlands, Amsterdam
- Origin
- 🇳🇬 Nigeria, Lagos
- Founded
- 1949
- Category
- Beverages › Beer › Lager
- Parent ticker
- AEX: HEIA
- Last verified
- · 1 sources
About Star
Star was the first beer Nigerian Breweries made: the first bottle came off the Lagos brewery line in June 1949, three years after the company was incorporated. It is still the brand the rest of the portfolio is arranged around, and the company has extended it into Star Lite and the fruit-flavoured Star Radler, both added in 2014.
Ownership timeline of Star
Where Star sits in Heineken
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
- BRANA (95%) · 5 brands
- Nigerian Breweries (72.9%) · 14 brands
Open the full Heineken ownership tree →
See the full Heineken brand portfolio (29) →
Other brands owned by Heineken
Heineken controls 29 brands on Brandtree, 29 of them in beverages.
Also in beverages
- 33 Export
- Amstel (1870)
- Birra Moretti (1859)
- Climax (2010)
- Cruzcampo (1904)
- Desperados (1995)
- Dos Equis (1897)
- Goldberg (2009)
- Gulder (1970)
- Heineken (1873)
- Hi-Malt (1991)
- Kinanm (2014)
- La Benedicta
- Lagunitas (1993)
- Legend Extra Stout (1992)
- Life Continental Lager (1983)
- Malta Gold
- Malta H (1976)
Other brands in lager, and who owns them
The 200 brands in lager on Brandtree belong to 55 owners. The largest is AB InBev, with 17; Heineken has 16.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| Aguila | AB InBev | 🇧🇪 Belgium |
| Allsopps | EABL | 🇰🇪 Kenya |
| Asahi Super Dry | Asahi Group | 🇯🇵 Japan |
| 333 | ThaiBev | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
| Cristal | CCU | 🇨🇱 Chile |
| Cabro | Cervecería Centro Americana | 🇬🇹 Guatemala |
| Beermix | Obolon | 🇺🇦 Ukraine |
| Bomonti Filtresiz | Anadolu Efes | 🇹🇷 Turkey |
About the owner: Heineken
Heineken is a publicly listed company headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands, founded in 1864. Brandtree records 29 brands under its control, and it is listed as AEX: HEIA.
Heineken was founded in Amsterdam in 1864 when Gerard Adriaan Heineken bought the Haystack brewery. It is the second-largest brewer in the world and remains family-influenced through Heineken Holding N.V.
🇳🇬 Star and other Nigerian brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 61 brands that began in Nigeria. 14 of them (23%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country, Star among them.
- Chivita — UAC of Nigeria 🇳🇬
- Coco Crush — Flour Mills of Nigeria 🇳🇬
- Erisco Green Tea — Erisco Foods 🇳🇬
- Aero Contractors — Aero Contractors 🇳🇬
- Air Peace — Air Peace 🇳🇬
- Arik Air — Arik Air 🇳🇬
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of Star?
The parent company of Star is Heineken, a publicly listed company headquartered in the Netherlands. Star sits under Heineken's subsidiary Nigerian Breweries.
Is Star Nigerian or Dutch?
Star originated in Nigeria in 1949, but it is owned today by Heineken, which is headquartered in the Netherlands. So Star is a Nigerian-origin brand under Dutch ownership.
Is Star still owned by Heineken?
Yes. As of 16 September 2026, Star is still owned by Heineken. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (1) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] Nigerian Breweries Plc 2025 Annual Report and Accounts — Nigerian Breweries Plc, Annual report; retrieved 16 September 2026.
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