[2008-01-08]  Merged Kingdom Meikles Africa to list on ZSE
KINGDOM Meikles Africa Limited a — company formed out of the merger of Meikles Africa, Kingdom, Tanganda and Cotton Printers — is set to list on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange on Monday next week.

The first shares will be issued to Kingdom and Tanganda shareholders, who are major partners in the new company. Kingdom and Tanganda will delist from the bourse on Friday to pave way for the re-listing of the company. In a joint statement on Friday, Meikles, Kingdom and Tanganda advised shareholders of both Kingdom and Tanganda the schemes of arrangement were now operative and the shareholders were supposed to surrender their Kingdom and Tanganda share certificates. "Meikles Africa Limited shareholders do not have to surrender their certificates as existing share certificates remain valid," said the companies. The listing of KMAL marks a milestone in the merging process that started last year. The merger of the four companies has featured prominently on trading news, sometimes being labelled a dream merger, as it was the first of its kind in the country. A number of obstacles arose during the transaction resulting in the delay in the listing of the company. The new company was supposed to be listed on the ZSE on 3 December last year. The assumption was that the merger would have been finalised at the time but Old Mutual, one of the major shareholders in Meikles, refused to back the deal. Old Mutual Asset Managers, the fund management arm of Old Mutual, wrote a note critical of the valuation given for Kingdom by deal negotiators resulting in the postponement of extraordinary meetings of shareholders of the ZSE listed companies — Meikles, Tanganda and Kingdom. However, the issue was later resolved resulting in all companies having EOMs that paved way for the finalisation of the merger deal. KMAL is already scouting for potential investors in London and South Africa with the hope of raising at least a quarter of their estimated market capitalisation of US$250 million. Apart from listing on the ZSE, the group has already come up with working plans that will see its market base growing. Among other plans is expansion of business interest in Victoria Falls, which would encompass retail, banking and hotel businesses. The presence of Cotton Printers in Bulawayo will pave way for expansion programmes of Kingdom that has indicated its intention to expand in the city.



Source: Copyright(c)2007 The Chronicle ltd.