Brait defends R2bn share-scheme loss
Executives were not favoured, says the company as it prepares to wind up structure amid share-price implosion
Brait on Monday insisted that a 2011 share scheme that is set to cost investors about R2bn to close out does not favour executives at the expense of other shareholders. On Friday the investment holding company announced its intention to wind up the structure for good, following a three-year implosion in its share price. The stock, which peaked at R167 in April 2016, closed 0.63% higher at R24 on Monday. The structure, called Fleet, was part of Brait’s 2011 transition from a private equity company into an investment holding group, in which it raised R5.9bn from a rights offer to buy a chunk of Christo Wiese’s Pepkor, as well as 49.9% of Premier Foods. A nine-member investment team, including CEO John Gnodde, were given the option to buy an 18% stake in Brait, but were only obliged to stump up a 20% deposit. At the time, they pledged R300m of their own capital to buy R1.5bn worth of stock, with the balance of R1.2bn taken as a loan. The deal was refinanced in 2014 by FirstRand and Sta...
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