[2007-09-17]  Olympia Rights Issue to Be Fully Subscribed
Olympia Capital, a Nairobi Stock Exchange listed company, says it expects a full uptake of the additional shares it is selling in the market by the close of today.

It is seeking to raise Sh420 million through a sale of rights to its shareholders at a price of Sh14 for 30 million shares.


The news came with an announcement that the holding company has increased its investment in the Botswana subsidiary by a further Sh82 million, as it seek to take full control.

"We have just purchased seven million shares in Olympia Botswana, which makes us now a 49.5 per cent shareholder," Olympia Capital chief executive officer, Michael Matu revealed in an online interview. "We will buy another one per cent in the market to give us control."

Olympia recently acquired a South African firm, Plush (Property) Limited through its Botswana subsidiary. It also owns Dunlop Industries a manufacturer of plastic tiles in Nairobi, and Kalahari Floor Tiles and Gaborone Enterprise in Botswana. The seven million shares were brought at 1.10 pula (Botswana's currency) per share, which translates to around Sh11.70 per share.

Acquisition of full control in the Botswana subsidiary is one of the reasons the company is seeking funds through the rights issue.

Olympia is confident that all the 30 million rights will be taken up by close of their last day of trading today.

High demand

"I am confident that it will be 100 per cent taken up," said Mr Matu, citing indications from the major shareholders was that they would take up their rights in full.

He also noted that demand for the rights is high among other investors, creating a market for those not taken up by their owners.

"We have a situation where there are not enough rights in the market, I have been receiving calls for up to six million rights, but we have no sellers," he added.

Apart from raising the additional capital, the issue is expected to expand the company's shareholder base from the current 1,200 members.



Source: Copyright © 2007 The Nation.