Dawn drops African Sun lawsuit

and the board is confident that a compromise viable for both parties will be reached.
“In order to give the negotiations a chance, Dawn Properties has withdrawn the lawsuit. Shareholders will be kept advised on develop­ments.”
African Sun successful mounted a corporate coup to avoid eviction, which Dawn attempted following a dispute over rentals. Dawn, now majority owned by African Sun, at 28,54 per­cent, leases most of the hotel properties from which the latter operates.
African Sun shored up its stake in Dawn, from 15 percent, to gain more influence in the com­pany.
Dawn wanted to evict African Sun from eight properties: Hwange Safari Lodge, Amber Mutare, Carribea Bay in Kariba, Elephant Hills in Victoria Falls, Crowne Plaza Monomotapa in Harare, Beitbridge Express Hotel, Troutbeck in Nyanga and Holiday Inn Mutare.
The firm claimed the hospitality giant had fre­quently breached its lease agreement. But African Sun denied ever violating the terms of its 50-year lease agreement with Dawn.
The battle lines were drawn after African Sun attempted to pledge title deeds for the Crowne Plaza Monomotapa to the Industrial Development Cor­poration of South Africa as collateral for a US$10 million loan.