Puma enters Botswana through Wilderness

Brian Benza
Staff Writer | Friday March 12, 2010 00:00

 

Wilderness, which is currently in the process of listing on the Botswana Stock Exchange, has been in Botswana for the past 26 years and has operations in the Chobe, Linyanti and the Okavango Delta.

In an interview with Business Week, Wilderness CEO Andy Payne said Puma bought 46.4 million shares while Puma chairman and CEO Jochen Zeitz bought a one-percent stake worth P16.7 million in his individual capacity from the 56.3 million that were on the placement.

Wilderness also recently launched a public offer for three million shares at P4 each in Botswana and South Africa, which will be followed by a primary listing on the BSE bourse in April. After the IPO, the company will be 75 percent owned by the current shareholders, 20 percent by the world's third-largest sportswear company Puma, while minority shareholders - among them Stanbic Investment Management Services - will take up the rest.

Payne said the current private and public offers is set to raise P124 million, much of which will go towards restructuring of the business. 'We are trying to consolidate our business as we operate in many different countries,' said Payne.

'From the P124 million we are going to raise, about P97 million will be used to buy our South African business and consolidate it into one group holdings entity which will be listed on the Botswana Stock Exchange. Consolidating the business makes a lot of sense as all of these business are connected and it is better for them to be under one roof.'

In addition to Botswana and South Africa, Wilderness also has operations in Namibia, Malawi, the Seychelles, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The company will have a secondary listing on the the Johannesburg Stock Exchange Africa board which Payne believes will benefit its Botswana shareholders as the shares are fungible.

'Having a secondary listing on the more liquid JSE means that shareholders here can move them to the JSE register, sell them and bring the money home,' he said.

The 26-year-old business is invested in 53 destinations and manages and markets a further 17 in seven southern African countries. It also operates specialist travel businesses in six countries as well as a fleet of 49 aircraft.

It employs more than 2,700 people most of them in its Botswana operations, mainly from remote rural communities. The company achieved a revenue of P995.05 million for the year to February 2009.

Looking ahead, Payne said the company aims to double both the number of guests hosted in the business by 2015 and the present areas under influence, while continuously improving the operational efficiencies of its business model.

'We recognise that achieving this aim will require greater access to capital markets, a broader shareholder base and a simplified corporate structure,' he noted. 'We also believe that our unique positioning, iconic international brand and management's long track record of financial and operational delivery present investors with an attractive growth and performance platform.'