Basil Read to sell energy unit, shut engineering division

Johannesburg - Shares in Basil Read [JSE:BSR] jumped more than 6% after the construction group said it would sell its energy unit and was in talks to shut down an engineering division under plans to offload non-core assets.

Basil Read said in a statement it would sell its energy unit after receiving non-binding indicative offers of between R70m and R80m in November.

The company said it had selected a preferred bidder for Basil Read Energy and was still in negotiations for the sale.

The firm also said it had also decided to shut down its Basil Read Matomo unit, a division that sets up processing plants for junior mining companies.

Matomo was previously part of Basil Read's engineering unit TWP group, which it sold for $105m in 2012 to pay debts and expand its core business.

At 14:50 GMT, Basil Read's shares traded 6.44% higher at R3.14 on the JSE.