adminCHOPPIES directors, Ramchandran Ottapathu and Farouk Ismail will raise P200 million from selling 80 million shares in Far Property Company (FPC) ahead of the company’s listing on the Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) early May. The 80 million shares comprise 40 million existing shares and another fresh issue of another 40 million shares. According to the FPC prospectus, a share is being sold at P2.57 each. Far Property’s portfolio consists of 178 properties worth P1.2 billion located in Botswana and South Africa, the majority of them being warehouses and shopping centres where Choppies operates from.
The company is expected to list 380 million shares in early May at an estimated market capitalisation of P977 million. Post the placement; Ottapathu and Ismail’s 50 percent each shareholding in FPC will reduce to 39.5 percent each with 21 percent in the hands of public investors.
In an interview, Ottapathu said from the 80 million shares on offer, 60 million have been sold through a private placement while 20 million will be sold through an Initial Public Offer (IPO).
“The IPO opened on March 30 and will close on the 21st of April before the company lists on the 4th of May,” he said.
Selling of shares in Far Property could turn out to be another huge payout for the two after they raked in over a billion pula in financial dealings in 2015.
In September last year, Ottapathu and Ismail disposed of nine firms linked to the retail giant, for P450 million. The lucrative disposal of Spark Capital came just months after the two directors pocketed more than P600 million when they sold shares each on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in May last year. – mmegi
Online Reporter