Brait wants all of Freeworld

Johannesburg - Private equity group Brait SA has offered R1.7bn for all the shares it does not already own in Freeworld Coatings, a maker of automotive and industrial coatings.

Brait will offer R10.45 per share per Freeworld share, the two firms said in a joint announcement. That represents a premium of almost 16% on Tuesday's closing price of R9.01.

The bid was announced after the close of trade in Johannesburg. It also represents a 34.6% premium on the share's closing 30-day volume weighted average traded price.

Brait, through its unit VVT Infrastructure Investments, already owns 18.86% in Freeworld.

Following the implementation of the deal, Freeworld would be delisted from the JSE.

Nedbank has agreed to fund the deal.

Freeworld Coatings, which has a market capitalisation of R1.8bn, was spun off by South African industrial group Barloworld in 2007.

- Reuters