ON THE SPOT
Grindrod chairman on waving goodbye to shipping and sailing into a new future
Grindrod without the shipping is a bit like bacon without eggs. And yet, this week, the logistics group finally jettisoned its original maritime business, which is now primary listed on Nasdaq with an inward offering on the JSE. In announcing the split earlier in 2018, Grindrod said it had contemplated a separate listing of the shipping business for "many years". Business Day asked chairman Mike Hankinson whether those were the bad years post the financial crisis, or whether this was on the cards all along. There have been a number of occasions, going back to even prior to 2008. It has been something that has been on the agenda of the group for many years, and shipping is a very cyclical, specific industry. This is the time that we said that the market looks like it’s ready. At the initial discussion time when I got involved, about 12 months ago, the comment made to me was that if we were going to list, maybe we were six months too late, maybe we’re six months too early – it doesn’t...
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