/ 7 May 1997

JCI MD quits

WEDNESDAY, 11.30AM

JOHANNESBURG Consolidated Investments’ MD Bill Nairn resigned yesterday after compromising his position by publicly backing Cyril Ramaphosa’s New Africa Investments Limited in the race for a stake in the mining giant by black empowerment investors.

As it turned out, Nairn backed the wrong horse, as Nail’s African Mining Group failed to raise the required funds, allowing Saflife to take the prize. It is believed Nairn’s resignation is directly linked to his open support for Ramaphosa’s bid and opposition to Saflife.

The latest development had a negative effect on JCI’s already beleagured share price, which shed 85c to R42,00 on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Saflife, which bought 30% of JCI at R54,50 a share, shed 95c to R19,95.