COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

Remgro to unbundle stake 25% in Grindrod

Remgro, the Rupert family-controlled investment company, is unbundling its 25% interest in JSE-listed Grindrod to shareholders - in line with its strategy to move most of its portfolio to unlisted assets.

The decision to unbundle the stake, which is valued at just under R1.8bn, follows a host of recent transactions involving other listed companies Remgro is invested in, including the proposed sale of Distell to Dutch brewer Heineken, as well as its recent offer together with shipping group MSC to take Mediclinic private. Remgro holds a 31.7% interest in Distell and 44.6% of Mediclinic.

In a SENS announcement on Monday afternoon, Remgro said it had “embarked on a realignment of its investment portfolio to ensure that it remains relevant and continues to deliver sustainable value for Remgro shareholders”.

It also said that since 2011 its relationship with Grindrod had been “good” and had supported the company’s “strategy to unlock value for its shareholders by refocusing on its core freight services business”. Grindrod has shipping and freight logistics operations.

“Execution of this strategy during recent years has yielded the desired outcomes and financial results, with the market responding positively to the benefit of all Grindrod shareholders. On the back of this performance, Remgro believes it is now the optimum time to unbundle its Grindrod interest to the Remgro shareholders.”

All Weather Capital senior equity analyst Cobus Cilliers said the deal made sense in terms of Remgro’s stated objective of moving its investments more into unlisted assets. -Fin24

Capitec launches cell service with Cell C

Capitec, South Africa’s largest retail bank by customers, has ventured into the mobile phone business with the launch of its virtual mobile network that promises customers cheaper data that doesn't expire.

Capitec Connect, a partnership between the bank and Cell C, aims to disrupt the prepaid mobile business, currently dominated by large operators, with the possibility of further consolidation after MTN expressed interest in buying Telkom. Capitec's peers have also been looking to jump on the digital bandwagon and diversify their service offerings, and Standard Bank and FNB are also mobile virtual network operators, with SB Mobile and FNB Connect, respectively.

The new service is expected to be a 'game changer' for prepaid voice, data and SMS service and bring seeks to bring "digital inclusivity", Capitec says.

"South Africans have been complaining about the cost of data. It's expensive and complicated. Bundle pricing, off-peak and peak rates, and the fact that your data expired are all things that make no sense," said Capitec CEO, Gerrie Fourie.

"We're changing this by giving our clients access to a mobile solution that is simpler to understand, much more affordable and can be recharged easily on our digital channels."-Fin24

Watchfinder reports customer data breach

Watchfinder, the dealer in pre-owned luxury watches that’s owned by Richemont, said it suffered a data breach that may have disclosed customer information.

The UK-based company, which sells watches online and in retail outlets, "recently discovered unauthorised access to a user account belonging to one of our employees," its chief executive officer, Arjen van de Vall, said in an email to clients and customers.

The Richemont unit is one of the biggest pre-owned watch dealers and competes against rival platforms like Watchbox and Chrono24. The popularity of buying and selling second-hand watches online surged during the pandemic as homebound consumers flush with cash discovered a new hobby. Prices for the most desirable Rolex, Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe models soared before pulling back in April amid the selloff in equities and cryptocurrencies.

The data breach "resulted in lists of our prospective customers being compromised," Van de Vall said in the email. The records may include email addresses, telephone numbers and any watches that customers and clients expressed an interest in, he said.

The data breach did not include postal addresses, passwords, credit card details or other banking information, the Watchfinder CEO said.-Fin24

Porsche to race onto German stock exchange

Luxury sports carmaker Porsche will this week race onto the Frankfurt stock exchange in what is set to be one of Europe's biggest listings in years, seeking to defy recent market turbulence.

While the listing comes at a difficult time for global markets — roiled by the war in Ukraine and surging inflation — the maker of the 9-11 sports car expects to leverage its brand power.

"Some potential clients may not yet be able to afford a Porsche, but they can buy the shares," said Lutz Meschke, deputy chairman of the company's board.

Parent company Volkswagen hopes Thursday's flotation will raise up to 9.4 billion euros ($9.2 billion) and are targeting a valuation of up to 75 billion euros for Porsche.

Some of the cash will be ploughed into Volkswagen's high-speed drive towards electric vehicles, which has brought the legacy carmaker into more direct competition with US rival Tesla.

In terms of value of shares issued, Porsche's is set to be the biggest stock market debut in Germany since Deutsche Telekom's in 1996, and the largest in Europe since the 2011 flotation of Switzerland-based commodities giant Glencore. -Fin24