TSL Limited has agreed to pay US$25 million to buy a 51.43% stake in Nampak Zimbabwe, gaining control of the country’s biggest packaging manufacturer.
Nampak makes packaging such as PET bottles, crates, bottle tops, plastic lids, and the containers used for Chibuku Super by Delta, which is a 22% shareholder in the business which it co-founded with Nampak South Africa in 1993. Nampak also makes paper, drums, cans and a variety of plastic containers used by food and beverage companies. The transaction comes six years after TSL disposed of its shares in Nampak for US$15 million.
TSL will now make an offer to buy out the remaining Nampak shareholders, according to Nampak Zimbabwe. The US$25 million for the 51.43% stake values Nampak Zim at US$48.7 million.
In a notice on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange on Wednesday, Nampak SA said the sale is part of its “asset disposal plan”, which has seen it sell off multiple assets, including in South Africa, Angola, Nigeria and Zambia.
Earlier this year, Nampak SA left Nigeria after selling its business there for US$68.5 million. The company is also selling its South Africa liquid cartons business for R450 million. It is also selling its businesses Zambia, Angola and Malawi. The sales, the company said previously, are part a broader asset disposal plan aimed at raising approximately R2.6 billion to ease its debts.
In June, Nampak SA CEO Phil Roux had said there was “no rush” to leave Zimbabwe.
“There is no hurry in getting out of these operations. We are happy to leave that business as it is,” he said then. The Zimbabwe unit declared a small dividend, contributing R84.8 million in profits for the period to 30 September 2023. Currency volatility may have however convinced Nampak to sell.
“In terms of the asset disposal plan, the disposal of which will significantly contribute to the reduction of the group’s net debt and eliminate the associated risk and volatility of this economy,” Nampak reported. Government also owes the company US$52 million, Roux said in June.
Among TSL’s businesses are Tobacco Sales Floor, Bak Logistics, Agricura, Avis, TSL Properties, Sasana Tours and Premier Forklift. TSL also owns Propack, which makes tobacco packaging.
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