Johannesburg - Remgro [JSE:REM] plans to raise more than R9.9bn ($739m)
from shareholders as the company controlled by South African billionaire
Johann Rupert considers deals including a right to buy
SABMiller [JSE:SAB] stake in drinks maker
Distell Group [JSE:DST].
The company plans to raise the funds through a rights offer and the
sale of B shares, it said in a
statement after the market closed in Johannesburg on Tuesday. Investors
will be entitled to 10 shares for every 100 they own at a price of
R192.50 each under the terms of the rights issue. That’s a discount
of 21% to Tuesday’s closing price of R241.72.
The investment group has first refusal on SABMiller’s 26%
holding in the maker of Amarula liqueur and Klipdrift brandy, valued at
about R9.5bn. The brewer was told to sell the asset by
antitrust authorities as a condition to winning South African approval
for its takeover by Anheuser-Busch InBev [JSE:ABI]. Remgro already owns almost
53% of Distell.
No agreement regarding the deal has been reached and Remgro will only
exercise its right on “commercially appropriate terms,” the
Stellenbosch, South Africa-based company said. “Other strategic
opportunities are also being explored by Remgro and its portfolio
companies.”
Remgro
shares fell 0.97% to R239.37 by 10:43 in Johannesburg for a market value of R115.16bn.
Distell declined 0.17% to R162.70.
South Africa’s Competition Tribunal ruled that the stake in Distell
had to be sold as a condition to agreeing to the takeover by AB InBev,
which would create the world’s largest brewer. The deal will be
considered by SABMiller shareholders on Wednesday, with most voting by
proxy supporting the $104bn takeover offer,
according to people familiar with the matter.
Rupert companies
Remgro also owns stakes in consumer-goods companies including
Unilever South Africa and RCL Foods [JSE:RCL]. It holds more than 40% of private-healthcare provider
Mediclinic International [JSE:MDC]. Rupert’s net worth is about $6.4bn,
according to the
Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Two Rupert family-related companies have undertaken to subscribe for
1.4 million rights issue shares and the remaining 46.7 million have been
underwritten by FirstRand's Rand Merchant Bank unit.
Any surplus cash not used for “strategic opportunities” may also be used to repay debt, Remgro said.
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