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Pick n Pay Stores said it will list its low-cost Boxer business on the Johannesburg bourse by the end of the year and that the South African grocer will raise as much as R8 billion (US$452 million) in the process, making it the continent’s biggest offering this year.
Amid a revamp of South Africa’s third-largest grocer by revenue, Pick n Pay expects the offer to raise toward “the upper end” of a previously guided range of R6 billion to R8 billion, it said in a statement yesterday. It will include an over-allotment option that likely won’t exceed R500 million.
Sales at its low-cost Boxer business climbed 12 percent in the six months through 25 August, which will help the struggling retailer woo investors. Chief executive officer Sean Summers is “quietly confident” that the Cape Town-based company will reduce trading losses in its Pick n Pay segment by as much as 50 percent for the full year, he said in a separate statement.
Summers, who was rehired as CEO last year, has a three-year turnaround plan which includes selling shares in its Boxer unit. The company’s loss after tax widened 45 percent to R827,4 million in the first half from a year earlier.
“The Boxer IPO remains pivotal to our strategy, and their remarkable performance continues to prove it is an exceptional business. We are excited to see it thrive as a listed entity,” said Summers.
Boxer has three store formats — Boxer Superstores offering daily groceries such as maize meal, rice, samp, oil and beans, perishables and fresh produce, as well as Boxer Liquors and Boxer Build.
As of August 25, 2024, there are 300 Boxer Superstores, 159 Boxer Liquors and 30 Boxer Build stores. The store count increased by 12 for the 26 weeks ended 25 August 2024. — Bloomberg.
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