Shares of debt-laden packaging group Nampak lifted almost 4% on Tuesday after it announced a R450 million deal to sell its SA liquid cartons business, as well as units in Malawi and Zambia, to a consortium.
Nampak, valued at about R1.4 billion on the JSE, has been grappling with a net debt pile that stood at R4.6 billion at the end of September. It's currently in a push to give up its conglomerate status and focus mostly on being a metals business based largely out of SA. The consortium is made up of Corvest 15, a private equity company and an indirect subsidiary of FirstRand Bank, as well as Dlondlobala Capital, a majority black-owned investment holding company and private equity fund manager. Liquid cartons MD Raymond Dube and MD of Nampak Malawi and Zambia Shaun Du Plessis are also set to be shareholders.South Africans need to be in the know if we want to create a prosperous future.