[2008-06-30]  Vision to raise sh28b in rights issue
VISION Group hopes to raise sh28b from the rights issue, which will be used to finance major expansion plans, the chief executive officer, Robert Kabushenga, has said.

Kabushenga told shareholders the expansion project would be completed in 18 months once the financing is secured.

“However, we shall try and turn around investment in a shorter time. I guarantee you that if you made a decision to buy, stay with us because you will not regret,” he said.

Vision Group which publishes The New Vision will offer 25.5 million additional shares at a discounted price of sh1,100 to shareholders from July 10 to August 13.

Kabushenga told shareholders during a cocktail at the Kampala Serena Hotel the expansion would entail the purchase of a new printing press, construction of a bigger capacity factory and an office block.
The firm is also planning to consolidate its investment in electronic media.

“Our business partners need a total business solution for their communications needs, the WAN to book, with one media house knowing that all communication requirements in print and electronic are catered for. This will be a key competitive advantage.”

He said the company was looking at exploring the possibility of putting content on a mobile platform in future.

“It’s been successfully done in Kenya and we think the capacity exists. We should be able to do that as well. There is a generational shift happening in the media industry where people are moving into new methods of information. If we are not there to provide that content, somebody else will.”

Njoroge Ng’ang’a, the general manager of Dyer and Blair Uganda, the transaction advisors and lead sponsoring brokers for the offer, said New Vision’s share price had increased dramatically from sh755 in November last year to the current sh2,510.



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