Pioneer closes in on Unifreight

Business has established.

Sources said negotiations between the two had been completed and the parties were now waiting only for regulatory approvals to seal the deal.
It was not clear which authorities were yet to give their approval, but the process normally involves the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange.

In certain instances, such transactions may also need the approval of the Competition and Tariff Commission. Pioneer was upbeat over the takeover deal and the progress achieved so far.
Pioneer chief executive Mr Albert Ushe would not comment beyond revelations at the firm’s annual general meeting last week that the matter was now before the regulators.
“Cautionary statements have been issued through the Press on discussions underway in terms of a strategic transaction,” he said. “We will make the necessary announcements once discussions and regulatory approvals have been completed. This should happen very soon.”

But sources privy to developments told Herald Business the deal was as good as done and parties expected responses from the regulators soon.
“The issue is before the regulatory authorities who we expect to give a response very soon. We submit to a number of authorities, including ZSE.”
Unifreight Zimbabwe specialises in road freight, international couriers and freight forwarding and moves single or complex goods around the world.

Conclusion of the deal would bolster Pioneer’s recapitalisation drive, resulting in a US$9 million capital injection for procurement of 50 new coaches and 84 trucks.
The ZSE-listed concern is currently awaiting delivery of eight of the coaches while 34 new trucks are already part of its fleet.
Mr Ushe said the plan was to buy 50 new buses to grow the group’s transport and logistics fleet for cross-border, contracts business and local routes.

“In the trucking division, 34 trucks have been purchased and injected into the fleet since the beginning of the year and a further 50 will be added by year-end,” he said.
A new IT system for centralised ticketing system for buses and use of electronic cards for payments by passengers will be commissioned by year-end.

Software for customers to track and trace their goods is also being installed and will be introduced before the end of the year for cross-border and local freight.
The capital injection demonstrates Pioneer’s commitment to maintain and expand profitability, which has risen 168 percent in the first five months of the year.
“Net profit to date is US$476 354 compared with US$695 555 in the same period last year. This is a significant movement in business performance,” said Mr Ushe.
He said profitability had been driven largely by the re-modelling and re-structuring strategies the group had implemented in 2010 to streamline business operations and reduce overheads to achieve operational efficiencies.