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Beer magnate Freddy Heineken dies at 78

Beer magnate Freddy Heineken, who made the Dutch brewer his grandfather founded a household name, has died of pneumonia at the age of 78.

Alfred Henry Heineken died at his home in the coastal resort of Noordwijk on Thursday, Heineken NV said. His health had been poor since he suffered a mild stroke last April.

"The company mourns the loss of a man who, on 1 June 1942 at the age of 18, first came to work at the brewery that his grandfather had acquired in 1864," the firm said in a statement.

Freddy, who largely shunned the public gaze after surviving a 1983 kidnapping ordeal, was chairman of Heineken NV from 1971 to 1989 and headed its supervisory board from 1989 to 1995.

Though no longer in charge of the day-to-day running of the business, he continued to control Europe's largest brewer through his leadership of and majority stake in Heineken Holding NV, which in turn controls the listed beer company.

Freddy was set to loosen his grip slightly. In November it was announced he would step down this April as management board chairman of Heineken Holding -- a post held since 1979 -- though he intended to retain the biggest share of the holding, and with it ultimate control.

He had been chairman and delegate member of the Heineken Holding management board since 1979. His daughter, Charlene, will become delegate member of the board and take over the family's controlling interest in Heineken Holding.

"In keeping with Mr Heineken's wishes, control of Heineken Holding will remain in the family," the company statement said.

Heineken NV stock rose three percent and Holding shares added over five percent in early Amsterdam trade -- their highest levels in four months -- as the death of the grand old man of Dutch brewing fanned takeover talk.

"The shares are up on speculation there could be pirates off the coast interested in taking over Heineken or its holding company," said Rene Lokenberg, head of equity research at Van der Hoop Effectenbank.

Heineken career spanned half a century

Treading in the footsteps of his father and grandfather before him, Freddy started working in the brewery in 1942 before spending two years with Heineken's importer in the United States, where he met and married American Lucille Cummins.

With his penchant for private planes, fast cars and beautiful women, Freddy earned a reputation as one of the Netherlands' most flamboyant entrepreneurs.

A fierce champion of his brand, Freddy threw himself into marketing and made bright green synonymous with Heineken lager. "I don't sell beer, I sell warmth" was his motto.

After his kidnapping in November 1983 -- he was released three weeks later after the payment of a multi-million guilder ransom -- Freddy limited his public appearances.

In one of his rare interviews, he expounded on death.

"It is not all that dreadful to die, because it was not all that bad before you were born."

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