COMPANY COMMENT: Fairfax move on PPC a case of investor envy?
While PPC’s share price responded positively to the news of suitors, the shareholders didn’t seem one bit excited by the Fairfax offer
A "firm intention to make a conditional partial offer to acquire shares" doesn’t quite smack of a determination to get hold of a company. Monday’s announcement that Fairfax Africa had R2bn to spend on PPC shares did not seem designed to stir up excitement among long-suffering PPC shareholders. It was so equivocal it was as though Fairfax guys would rather not get too close.And while PPC’s share price responded positively to news of a possible three suitors in the market, the shareholders didn’t seem one bit excited by the Fairfax offer. "A dog’s breakfast" was how one described it. One gets a sense that PPC shareholders feel a little embarrassed about their shareholding. It’s been a long grim slog for them, but they seem a hardy lot and may need something a little more enticing than Fairfax’s offer. The unexpected appearance of Fairfax raises questions about how long this Canadian investor has been backing the Afrisam-PPC merger. A merger between the two struggling cement companies ...
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