Edcon focuses on business, not listing, as investor consortium calls the shots
Edcon, having announced Grant Pattison as the man who would fix and list the retailer, has backtracked on its JSE plans after management's sluggish strategy failed to win back consumers. But the shareholders who injected capital into Edcon to ensure its survival may have a different agenda. Edcon CEO Pattison, speaking on the sidelines of the group's strategy presentation on Thursday, told Business Times: "What I can tell you with absolute certainty is that in the short term there is no JSE listing. "It can be seen as somewhat disrespectful of our current owners for me to announce that we are listing. "I think it's a bad idea that management teams and CEOs decide on who the shareholders are." Bernie Brookes stepped down as Edcon CEO this year after spending his two-year contract with the ailing retailer focusing on recapitalising the business through a buyout by a consortium of investors including US-based Franklin Templeton, Absa and FirstRand's First National Bank. Pattison said t...
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