Brimstone casts net for more Oceana shares

Empowerment stalwart Brimstone Investment Corporation is scaling up its fishing interests by angling for more shares in Oceana Group, Africa’s largest fishing enterprise. Fishing industry sources say the deal is critical in reinforcing Oceana’s empowerment credentials ahead of the 2020 long-term fishing rights allocation process. “It adds stability to Oceana,” one noted. On Thursday Brimstone proposed spending R581m to acquire 8-million shares in Oceana from majority shareholder Tiger Brands, the sprawling household goods business. The deal is based on an Oceana share price of about R72.68 a share. Brimstone is a big player in the local fishing sector, with a controlling stake in recently listed fishing business Sea Harvest, and it already holds a 17% stake in Oceana.

Oceana was one of Brimstone’s first investments when the empowerment venture was launched in the mid-1990s. Brimstone’s decision to cast for more shares follows a decision late in 2018 by Tiger Brands to unbundle...