CAPE TOWN – South Africa’s African Equity
Empowerment Investments will list its fishing
and food unit on the Johannesburg Stock
Exchange on March 2 to grow its market share,
its chief executive said on Wednesday.
Khalid Abdulla said the firm expected the Initial
Public Offering (IPO) to value the unit at around
R1.2 billion ($90 million) and that the cash “war
chest” from the IPO will be used for further
growth and acquisitions.
“We will be raising about R550 million with the
listing and obviously we will use that money to
grow the business further, to buy other fishing
and food-related businesses,” Abdulla told
Reuters in an interview.
“We will have a nice war chest to go and build
this business to another level,” he said.
He said the company, South Africa’s largest
black-owned and managed fishing and food
firm, will be placing about 45-49% of Premier’s
share on the market, with each share selling for
approximately R4.50.
Headquarted in Cape Town, Premier Food and
Fishing said during its 2016 end-of-year results
that operating profit rose by 37% to R74 million
on the back of higher sales and good catch
rates.
Abdulla said the firm would initially be looking
for acquisition opportunities in the fishing
sector that complement Premier’s existing
portfolio of species – where it holds medium to
long-term quotas for west coast rock lobster,
squid, pilchards and hake.
He said Premier’s empowerment credentials,
part of government policy to spread wealth to
the majority of blacks excluded during white-
minority rule, should stand it in good stead
when buying other companies.