Zeder

PSG-owned agri-business investor Zeder has topped up its stake in the Paarl-based liquor group from 26.2% to 31.1% after underwriting a R150-mn rights issue, it was disclosed on Monday afternoon.
KWV, which recently separated out its stake in Distell, raised R150-mn in new capital to fortify its balance sheet in the prevailing tough trading conditions. Zeder and VinPro were the underwriters for the rights offer in the ratio of 78.6% to 21.4%. VinPro's stake in KWV has increased from 7.3% to 8.5%. KWV's rights offer pitched 24.2-mn new shares in the ratio of 54 new rights at 623c/share for every 100 KWV shares already held.
The rights price represented a substantial discount on KWV's latest traded OTC (over-the-counter) price of around 800c and an even bigger discount on the last stated net asset value of 2 400c/share. Despite the seemingly attractive rights offer pitch, KWV announced that shareholders subscribed for 20-mn shares or 83% of the rights offer. That meant Zeder's underwriting commitments secured 3.2-m new KWV shares and VinPro almost 900 000 shares.
Zeder, which owns stakes in a number of unlisted agribusinesses, has previously indicated a willingness to build its stake in KWV closer to the 35% shareholding level.