THE FINANCE GHOST: Omnia — private equity experts in disguise

Like those of so many JSE mid caps, Omnia’s share price chart burns brightly red over three and five years. There were tough times for the group, including a share price collapse from late 2018 all the way to 2019.Then, after a rights issue of R2bn in September 2019 and the development of a turnaround plan, the group had to deal with Covid.It hasn’t been an easy period for Omnia, or for anyone else, for that matter; yet the share price is up nearly 40% this year in line with a strong performance by many JSE mid caps. If you looked at our local market, you would never believe that half the country was on fire in July.Omnia has a market cap of about R10.6bn and operates through three business segments: agriculture, mining and chemicals.The group is bigger than most people realise, with operations in 25 countries and over 4,000 employees. Omnia plays firmly in the so-called "real economy" — the sectors that are core to our country’s economic growth and job-creation prospects.In a recen...