If at first you don’t succeed ...
NEWS ANALYSIS: What Christo did next
Shoprite is flourishing and has great plans, but a merger with Steinhoff remains the largest shareholder’s goal
Say what you want about Christo Wiese, he really is determined. Once more he has his sights set on a merger between Shoprite and Steinhoff’s African operations. He may, for the second time, have to walk away with nothing to show but defeat. In the latest merger attempt by Wiese (Steinhoff’s and Shoprite’s largest shareholder) Shoprite would, if it succeeds, find itself controlled by a separately listed company, Steinhoff Africa Retail (Star). It would bring together the R141bn annual revenue of Shoprite and the R80bn annual revenue of Steinhoff’s African retail operations, which include Pepkor, JD Group, Steinbuild and Tekkie Town. The deal, which would give Star a 22.7% economic interest and 50% of the voting rights in Shoprite, had seemed to be destined for success, but has struck a potentially devastating obstacle. Steinhoff, always one to raise eyebrows, is this time faced with allegations of malpractice levelled against it by Manager Magazin, a monthly German business publicati...
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