Construction company Basil Read proposes to raise R300m via a steeply discounted rights offer that will see its shares in issue increase 11 times. It is pricing the rights offer at 22c per share — a third of Friday’s 65c closing price — and offering shareholders 10.35 new shares for every share held. The group says institutional investors have committed to buy 55.4% of the rights issue, led by Allan Gray which will buy up to 23.8% of the new shares. Other institutions that have committed themselves are PSG Asset Management, Prudential Investment Managers and state financier the Industrial Development Corporation. Basil Read had fallen into a loss of R474m for the six months to end-June 2017 from a R74m profit in the matching period due to loss-making projects. "We think management have taken the valuable and expensive lessons from Basil Read’s past to heart and we believe the company is well positioned for a turnaround," Allan Gray portfolio manager Simon Raubenheimer, said on Monda...
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