CFI disposes of Dore & Pitt stake

disposal is for an undisclosed amount, but is intended to retire debts and achieve modest profits.

Financial advisory company Corporate Excellence has been appointed to sell the business on behalf of the parent company.
“Corporate Excellence has been retained by the current shareholders of Dore & Pitt Limited to dispose of 100 percent of the issued shares of the company,” the advisory company said in a state-ment.

“We are inviting interested investors to submit binding offers to purchase the entire shareholding of the company.”
The disposal of Dore & Pitt comes at a time when the group has undertaken to offload its 14 percent stake in Windmill and other investments.

CFI was targeting to sell off its shareholding in Windmill, 45 percent in Maitlands Zimbabwe and several other properties within the first five months of its financial year.
Proceeds of the sale are expected to reduce the group’s borrowings, improve working capital and modernise process technologies in milling amid stiff competition from cheaper imports.

Dore & Pitt specialises in irrigation equipment and technical services to a wide range of clients, including farmers, municipalities, universities, hospitals and farm estates.
The company also provides borehole drilling, servicing and repairs.

Last year, CFI franchised its Town & Country outlets to fast-growing supermarket chain Afrofood and the deal is expected to last for three years.
Management at CFI also undertook a raft of structural reforms that included closure of retail subsidiary Honeydew Farm after the property was returned to its owners early in the year.

Farm & City outlets, also controlled by CFI, were repositioned by closing the wholesale dry grocery lines to concentrate on core business.
CFI are quiet on their fund-raising initiative given the prevailing tight liquidity conditions on the market. The group is planning on a US$15 million rights issue.
Stanlap Investments, with a 21,7 percent stake, owns CFI, while other shareholders include Messina (7,14 percent) and Old Mutual Life (6,7 percent).

The diversified concern has three subsidiaries – poultry, retail and specialised divisions.
The group intends to invest in upgrading and standardising information technology platforms in the poultry and retail division.

Proceeds from the rights issue would be used to fund the group’s retrenchment exercise and service short-term debt.

CFI was born out of the demutualisation of the old Farmers’ Co-operative and is currently valued at about US$11 million on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange.
Yesterday, the counter traded at US9,5c ahead of its analysts’ briefing, scheduled for today.