Barloworld extends R23bn buyout offer amid shareholder delays
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The contentious buyout offer for Barloworld has been extended by more than six weeks because some brokers and financial services companies are delaying selling their clients' Barloworld shares in support of the offer.
The stand-by offer for Barloworld shareholders to accept the R23 billion offer by Saudi Arabian firm Zahid Group in concert with Barloworld CEO Dominic Sewela, closed on Friday, again with insufficient shareholder support, but Barloworld's independent board has extended the offer to June 30.
The initial offer for the international heavy industrial equipment and food and ingredient solutions group was first made in February 2024, but shareholders raised issues about transparency, possible conflicts of interest due to the CEO's participation, and some shareholders wanted a better offer than R120 per share, while the shareholder vote failed.
'Barloworld…understands certain Barloworld ordinary shareholders have been unable to tender their shares into the standby offer through their CSDPs (Central Securities Depository Participants) or brokers,' the Independent Board said on Friday.
The company said it had received several inbound queries from its shareholders who indicated to their CSDPs or brokers that they wished to accept the standby offer, but had been advised that they would only be able to do so at 'a later stage,' the board said.
The board stated there was 'no lawful basis' for a CSDP or broker to delay accepting the standby offer on behalf of their shareholder client, and CSDPs and brokers 'must review their processes to ensure that instructions in relation to the standby offer are processed without delay.'
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