At the close of business on Monday, Christo Wiese, the largest shareholder in Steinhoff and Shoprite, was several billion rand richer as both shares surged on news that the planned merger had been scrapped. This may have provided some comfort for the man deemed to be the architect behind a transaction that had caused much consternation in the investment community.But it won’t have provided too much comfort, because at Monday’s close, he was still poorer than he was two months earlier — before there had been any mention of a tie-up between his two retail companies. Even with those two months to consider the alleged attractions of the proposed merger, few analysts were persuaded. As the days ticked over into weeks and the weeks into months, analysts and shareholders became increasingly perplexed. Beyond tidying up Wiese’s retail investments, the deal made little sense. So, on Monday there was a sense of relief that the caper has been abandoned. However, the relief was tinged with some...
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