THE Banker magazine has named Zambeef’s US$55 million listing in London and rights issue in Zambia as 2012’s ‘Deal of the Year’ in Africa for equities.

The magazine commended the landmark listing for the Zambian meat and dairy producer, saying the company’s US$33 million initial public offering (IPO) on London’s Alternative Investments Market last June was significant in many ways.

“It marked the first time a company from the southern African country had listed internationally and was one of the few overseas African IPOs from outside the natural resources sector.” The Banker stated. It added that the deal testified to emerging market investors’ growing appetite to get exposure to Africa’s rising and ever-wealthier middle class consumers.

“It got the attention of some of London’s biggest investors, with UK fund manager buying 10 per cent of the stock to become Zambeef’s largest single shareholder,” The Banker stated.

The magazine noted that Zambeef used the funds for expansion at home and in West Africa, and opted for an AIM listing as it would have struggled to raise as much money locally.

The IPO was part of two pronged capital raising, with Zambeef completing a US $22m rights issue on the Lusaka Stock Exchange shortly beforehand.

The Banker further stated that the deal, led by Renaissance Capital, has caught the eye of other Zambian companies, many of which are also considering listing abroad to access deeper pools of capital than what is available at home.

Also in the running in the equities category was South African sports retailer Holdsport’s R930m (US$I36m) IPO in July 2011.

Source: The Post Zambia

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