Glass packaging maker Consol Holdings said on Thursday it intended to list its issued ordinary shares on the JSE, subject to market conditions and requisite approvals.
Consol was previously listed on the JSE until 2007, when it was taken private by a consortium of private equity investors, led by its management, as well as Brait Private Equity, Old Mutual Private Equity, Sanlam Private Equity and HarbourVest Partners.
“As sub-Saharan Africa’s leading glass manufacturing and packaging company, our development plans are for aggressive growth locally and through the rest of the African continent,” CEO Mike Arnold said.
“We believe that by combining our competitive advantage and technical ability with our exceptional level of experience within the current committed leadership team, we can open up exciting opportunities to create significant value for our future shareholders.”
Consol is targeting to use approximately R2.7 billion of the net proceeds of the listing to strengthen and deleverage its balance sheet and repay a portion of the group’s shareholder loans, while the balance of shareholder loans will be converted to equity upon listing.
The company said Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Rand Merchant Bank and Standard Bank had been appointed as joint global coordinators for the listing.
Consol provides glass packaging products to customers in a variety of industries including beer, wine, flavoured alcoholic beverages, non-alcoholic beverages, spirits and food.
Its major customers include leading beverage and food companies operating in Africa, such as Anheuser-Busch InBev, Diageo, Distell, East African Breweries, Namibia Breweries, Heineken and Tiger Brands.
It has operations in South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria, and exports to 17 African jurisdictions. The company is currently constructing a new facility in Ethiopia, which is expected to be commissioned during the fourth quarter of 2018. (via African News Agency)
