POULTRY BATTLE GAINS WINGS: COUNTRY BIRD SNAPS UP MORE SHARES IN QUANTUM FOODS
COUNTRY Bird Holdings (CBH) on Friday made more share purchases in Quantum Foods after buying out Astral Foods’ 9.77% stake in the JSE-listed stockfeeds and poultry company. Shares in Quantum Foods on the JSE soared 72.93% on Thursday after Astral Foods disposed of its stake to CBH, in a move seen as shaking up the poultry industry. The move also sparked a battle for the control of Quantum Foods, analysts said, saying there was only about 5% to 6% free float left in the company’s stock. On Friday, Quantum Foods said it had “received a notification from CBH” in terms of the Companies Act, which indicated that “CBH has made further acquisitions of shares” in the company in addition to last week’s transaction. Furthermore, since the disposal of Astral Foods’ interest to CBH, there had been a shareholder who had notified Quantum Foods of having received an “unsolicited offer from CBH to acquire” its shares. The transaction had been proposed at a price per share above the then prevailing market price, but below R7.25 per share. “Another shareholder informed the company of the intention to offer its shares to the market at a price of R8.10 per share. “Quantum Foods has been in discussions with various stakeholders and is exploring the potential for other parties to purchase shares in the company,” it said.
In this regard, Quantum Foods had been notified that certain shareholders had agreed to sell their shares to persons that include Aristotle Africa, an entity that currently controls about 34% of the company. Quantum Foods’ share price has increased by 104.4% between the closing price on March 1 and the closing price on Thursday, March 7. On Friday, its share price closed 3.26% higher at R9.50. Quantum Foods supplies Astral with approximately 600 000 broilers per week. |