[2008-03-11]  CFI Holdings to consolidate shares
CFI Holdings is set to consolidate its shares following approval of the move by shareholders to improve its share price on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange.

The CFI board, chaired by lawyer Mr Simplicius Chihambakwe, said in a statement last Friday the consolidation as well as other issues tabled at its extraordinary general meeting held the previous week was "passed with the requisite majorities".

Other issues included a proposed increase in the share capital and changes to the Memorandum of Association to accommodate changes in the capital structures.

The endorsement will see the group’s 550 million ordinary shares of $0,001 each being merged into 110 million shares of $0,005 each while the over 521,4 million issued ordinary shares of $0,001 each would be combined into around 104,277 million shares of $0,005 each.

Authorised share capital would be increased from 110 million ordinary shares of $0,005 each to 200 million shares of the same value.

Announcing the proposals earlier on, Mr Chihambakwe said the amalgamation would reduce the high number of shares on the bourse which was resulting in a sharp fluctuation of the company’s share price.

"A comparative analysis of the company’s share price with some of its peers shows that the company may not be fully rated due to levels of liquidity.

"The rationale of the share consolidation is to increase visibility of CFI’s profitability on a per share basis, reduce share transaction fees for investors and certain administration costs for CFI, and broaden interest to institutional investors," Chihambakwe said.

Since announcement of the proposals in late January, CFI’s share price has surged from around $240 000 to around $1,5 million.

The consolidation is also expected to reduce costs of administering a huge shareholder register.

Post-consolidation shares would be traded on the bourse starting on March 17.

CFI Holdings is a diversified group whose subsidiaries include the Crest Poultry Group, retail divisions Farm and City, Honeydew Farm, Town and Country chain and specialised divisions Victoria Foods, Maitlands and Dore & Pitt.
Source: (c)Copyright 2008 The Herald ltd.