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Cape Town - Shares in the Sanlam group [JSE:SLM] fell on Wednesday morning after it announced it had completed the placing of 65.5 million shares with institutional investors at a price of R87 per placing share.
The group said this would raise R5.7bn.
At 13:15 on Wednesday the group’s shares were trading at R85.25, down 6.94% on the day.
Sanlam said the proceeds from the placing would be used, in part, to fund the group’s acquisition of the remaining 53.37% shareholding in insurance group Saham Finances.
Saham has operations in 26 countries across north, west and east Africa, as well as the Middle East. Sanlam previously said it was acquiring Saham to deepen its presence across Africa.
The financial services group said the listing and trading of the placing shares on the JSE was expected to commence on April 3 2018, subject to approval by the exchange. The placing shares will also be listed on the Namibian Stock Exchange, subject to approval.
"The success of this placing indicates the significant investor confidence in Sanlam following a long period of consistent delivery on our strategic priorities and is evidence of the renewed confidence in South Africa as well", said Sanlam CEO Ian Kirk in a statement.
"We believe our investment in Saham, once completed, will add value to all our stakeholders and it is a critical milestone in our centenary year as we look to sustain our growth and performance in the years ahead.”
Sanlam said the placing shares being issued represent approximately 3% of the company’s issued ordinary share capital of 2 166 471 806 shares.
The addition of the 65.5 million new shares will grow the group's total issued share capital to 2 231 989 047 ordinary shares.
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