MONDAY, 3.00PM:
A CONSORTIUM reportedly backed by financier George Soros has, since May, been planning a takeover bid for Lonrho Africa, the recently spun-off trading arm of British conglomerate Lonrho, the Sunday Telegraph said. The consortium is expected to wait for Thursday, when Lonrho Africa is expected to post poor interim results which could depress the share price and set the stage for a raid.
The paper reported that fund manager Blakeney Management, which specialises in African investments, has hired brokers Cazenove and Merrill Lynch as financial advisers in the bid, and has already quietly built up a 4% stake in Lonrho Africa since it was spun off on May 7. Blakeney is reportely planning to acquire a controlling stake in the company, and then begin a breakup bid.
The newspaper said any bid is expected to come in below the current market price of 78 pence, valuing the company at about 125-million($204,3-million).
Lonrho Africa was demerged from its parent company to pave the way for Lonrho to focus on its core mining concerns. The African trading arm currently has operations in many African companies including motor distributorships, a burgeoning cotton and timber industry, breweries, property, hotels and safari lodges. It is rumoured that if Blakeney succeeds in its Lonrho Africa bid, it could merge the company with trading group African Lakes — in which Blakeney holds a 26% stake.
Mbendi’s Lonrho Africa information page
BUSINESS BRIEFS
FOREIGNERS STAY WITH SA STOCK
DESPITE a volatile week, with the rand slipping to an all-time low, foreign investors moved back into South African stock, buying R891,52-million in the week ending June 5. Last week’s purchases increased the value of stock in foreign hands for the calendar year to R23,79-billion — significantly higher than the corresponding period in 1997 when they bought shares worth R9,32-billion.
ACSA TURNOVER RISES 21%
THE Airports Company of South Africa, which recently acquired Italian management company, Aeroporti di Roma as a strategic equity partner, announced that its annual turnover to the year ending in March saw a 21% rise in annual turnover. The group announced that annual turnover rose from R577,5-million to R710,4-million, with pre-tax profit rising 22% from R297,8-million to R363,2-million. The group’s capital expenditure jumped significantly from R150-million to nearly R350-million. ACSA’s financial director, Justin Williamson said the capital expenditure figures had jumped significantly from R150-million to nearly R350-million, and are likely rise as the group continues its upgrade of the international terminal at its Johannesburg International Airport. He warned the group will turn from a net cash situation to a “borrowed position” within the next 12 months because of the numerous projects planned at its airports.
HSRC GAUGES ID NEED
THE Human Sciences Research Council is to conduct a national survey to determine the number of people who actually hold valid identity documents which will enable them to vote in the national elections. The survey will help the Department of Home Affairs anticipate how many new identity documents it will have to issue in time for the poll. Only the green identity books, bearing a bar-code, will be accepted to secure a vote.
EU GRANT FOR CAPRIVI HIGHWAY
THE European Commission has granted N$30 million to Namibia to complete a Trans-Caprivi highway stretching to the remote town of Katima Mulilo. The grant, from funds earmarked to the SADC region as a whole, is intended to ensure that the highway becomes a major transport node for the benefit of the region as a whole, EC ambassador to Windhoek Ortiz de Zuniga announced.
WORLD BANK AIDS LESOTHO
THE World Bank announced on the weekend that it is to inject some R45-million into the Lesotho Highlands Water Project in the form of a loan. The bank announced that the loan has a maturity of 15 years, with a five-year grace period, and will be channelled into the environmental, social and technical support of Phase 1B of the project.
SHELL LAUNCHES NEW NIGERIA FIRM
ANGLO-Dutch oil company Shell on Monday announced the launch of a new company to market and distribute natural gas in Nigeria, a week after signing gas supply agreements with customers in Ogun in south-western Nigeria and Abia in the east. The new company, Shell Nigeria Gas, will use its own infrastructure in Nigeria and work with a major gas transmission company, the government and other interested energy and gas suppliers to build gas distribution facilities for industrial consumers. The gas supply agreements projects for Ogun and Abia, worth $290-million, will involve building a total of 110 kilometres of pipeline by next year. A third gas distribution project with an estimated cost of $9,3-million is also planned for completion in 1999. The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria joint venture currently supplies more than 80% of all commercial gas in the country.
NET#WORK TOPS LOERIES
ADVERTISING agency Net#work walked off with top-honours at South Africa’s top advertising awards, the Loeries, in a marathon glitterati affair at Sun City on Sunday night. Net#work walked off with two Grands Prix for its spoof on the Wonderbra ad for Big and Tall outfitters and its outdoor advertisement for Child Welfare, as well as seven gold Loeries. TBWA Hunt Lascaris won a Grand Prix for its Standard Bank’s Night Game television advertisement and Ogilvy Mather Righford Searle-Tripp & Makin scored a Grand Prix for its Jungle Oats television campaign. The two agencies won 11 and 15 gold Loeries respectively.
SA’S DESTRUCTIVE STUDENTS
CASH-strapped universities and technicons have been forced to spend in excess of R3-million to repair damage caused by rioting students over the past two years. In March last year rioting students at Technicon Northern Gauteng damaged some R1,426-million worth of property and stole over 90 computers, vandalised kitchen equipment and pilfered stock. This is just one of many incidents in South African tertiary institutions. Just two weeks ago the campus property at the University of Venda was burned down, causing R200000 damage. Students were demanding they be allowed 30 cans of beer each at a dance on which the university had spent R380000.