Mauritius, here we come
RAC could well take another shot and reverse its deep-value portfolio into Astoria, which has offshore tax advantages
Astoria, the offshore-focused investment company domiciled in Mauritius, has cashed out most of its portfolio and opened the way for a new takeover offer from 29% shareholder RECM & Calibre (RAC). Last year RAC — headed by investment industry heavyweights Piet Viljoen and Jan van Niekerk — pitched a cash and scrip takeover offer of R13.50 a share for Astoria, which has traded at a sizeable discount to its NAV since listing in 2015. Astoria initially rebuffed the takeover effort by RAC, and in the process opted to liquidate its investment holdings to return capital to shareholders. On Monday Astoria said a distribution of R12.82 a share would be paid to shareholders after most of the liquid positions — including Apple, Nike, Prudential, Walt Disney, Unilever, Facebook, British American Tobacco and JSE-listed global businesses such as Comair and Echo Polska — were sold off. A total of $71.6m was raised with an unencumbered cash holding of $37m also earmarked for the large capital paym...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.