Sefalana seals Lesotho deal
Staff Writer | Tuesday November 8, 2016 16:59
Sefalana says a rights issue programme is underway to raise funds for the transaction. Last month, Sefalana announced that it intended to raise P351 million through a rights issue to fund its expansion programme.
“Shareholders are advised that the company has successfully purchased a large cash and carry going concern in Maseru, Lesotho on November 1, 2016 and will trade under the name “TFS –Sefalana”, for a period of up to one year after which the reference to “TFS” will be removed. This has enabled the group to enter into the Lesotho market in line with its expansion plans into the region,” said the company
The company said further updates will be provided to shareholders on the transaction and on the progress made in respect of discussions with another third party referred to in the previous statement to shareholders.
Sealing of the Lesotho deal sees Sefalana now operating in three countries as it seeks to match Choppies expansion into Africa.
Locally, Sefalana is also planning to re-launch Delta Fresh milk and other dairy products by the end of year. The dairy plant which was purchased July last year, started production in December and is currently supplying A Star brand of milk to Sefalana stores.
Sefalana also completed the P4.6 million acquisition of the fruit juice plant from Golden Fruit 97 (Pty) Limited, the move which was expected to complement the group’s entry into manufacturing segment.
Meanwhile, the company announced that it will continue to seek additional suitable locations for further store openings as they move towards their long-term target of 70 stores across Botswana. It added that there are currently a number of stores that they are looking to open in the next 18 months.
At the KSI site, it said, the company has built four warehouses of 1,000 square metres each and that they are in the process of building a fifth. The group said it has also concluded on the purchase of the 40,000 square metres site at Setlhoa where they intend to carry out a significant development in the forthcoming year.