Remgro Limited, a South African investment holding led by billionaire Johann Rupert, plans to unbundle a 25-percent stake in Grindrod to shareholder as part of its portfolio-rotation strategy.
Grindrod is a freight logistics and shipping services company owned in part by Remgro Limited, a leading investment holding company controlled by the Rupert family. The South African company is divided into three divisions: freight services, shipping, and financial services.
The decision to unbundle a significant stake in the freight logistics company to shareholders comes nearly five months after the company reopened talks with potential buyers for its South African banking and financial services businesses, Grindrod Bank (GRDB) and Grindrod Financial Holdings.
In accordance with the terms of the planned unbundling, which is part of Remgro’s broader investment portfolio realignment, the Rupert-led investment group will distribute its entire 25-percent stake in Grindrod to its shareholders as an unbundling transaction.
For every 100 Remgro shares held, Remgro shareholders will receive 30.70841 unbundled Grindrod shares.
Remgro shares closed higher in response to the announcement, at R128.86 ($7.19) per share, 30 basis points higher than their opening price on Mon., Sept. 26, pushing the company’s market capitalization above R73.2 billion ($4.081 million).
Remgro stated that the decision to unbundle was supported by a “firm belief in Grindrod’s encouraging trajectory and the strong management team to deliver and fulfill Grindrod’s stated purpose and strategy,” while providing more details on the move, which comes just days after it announced plans to sell its stake in TotalEnergies South Africa, an operating subsidiary of TotalEnergies SE.
In a separate statement, Grindrod stated that it would continue to pursue its strategy of providing efficient and cost-effective logistics solutions, as well as invest in the necessary infrastructure.