Country Bird moots reverse listing into Sovereign
Poultry group Country Bird Holdings is now being wooed by private-equity player Capitalworks
Poultry group Country Bird Holdings (CBH) flighted the possibility of a reverse listing into smaller rival Sovereign Food Investments on Tuesday after news emerged that a rival private equity bid had strong support from shareholders. CBH holds a 34.1% stake in JSE-listed Sovereign and has made its takeover ambitions clear over the past 18 months. But in a recent twist, Sovereign is now being wooed by private-equity player Capitalworks, which already has the support of 54% of the Uitenhage-based poultry company’s shareholders for a R12 per share buyout offer. Speaking at Sovereign’s annual general meeting, CBH CEO Marthinus Stander complained that Sovereign executives had not properly engaged with his company. "Having not had the opportunity to engage with you, how can you come to the conclusion that it [CBH’s bid] is not beneficial to Sovereign shareholders?" Stander said CBH had exhausted all options in trying to engage with the Sovereign board. "You have not heard our views as a c...
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