BPOPF keeps faith as Wilderness goes private

By the publication of the 2018 Annual Report last July, the BPOPF, through several fund managers, held about 10.59 million shares or a 4.5 percent stake in Wilderness Holdings, earning it a place in the top five shareholders. The pension fund, which boasts P60 billion in assets, held 10.61 million shares in Wilderness by the delisting. Wilderness exited the Botswana Stock Exchange on Wednesday afternoon, completing the four-month process triggered by a takeover bid led by long-time director and CEO, Keith Vincent in partnership with US private equity asset managers.

Vincent and his partners had offered other shareholders P546 million or P6.25 per share to buy back their interests and take the pan-African tourism group private.