UNLIKELY BUYER UPSETS PRECONCEPTIONS
Distell free of stifling control but minorities seem jumpy
Judging by the share price movement over the past four weeks, minority shareholders in Distell have still not come to terms with the unexpected news that the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) will be acquiring the 26.4% of the company held by Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev). The share has slid back to the level it was trading at a year ago, down to R147 after reaching a high of R172 in mid-October spurred by expectations that Remgro would exercise its pre-emptive rights and help to put the drinks company on a firm growth path. Now there may be some jitters about Distell’s capacity to deal with what is likely to be a much tougher environment. It’s not that Distell minority shareholders are unhappy about PIC as a shareholder; it’s just that for decades, they have looked forward to the unwinding of the group’s cumbersome control structure and expected it all to end up with Remgro/Capevin. Now there is some uncertainty as to what, if any, strategic plans the PIC may have for its inves...
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