The shares sold at P3.16 each, a drop from the P3.51 Grit sold previously on March 7. Prior to that, the Mauritius-domiciled entity, with roots in London, sold at P3.51 in February and P3.48 in December.
Grit at one point held more than 30% equity in LLR and was the local group’s second biggest investor after founding shareholder, the Botswana Development Corporation.
The Mauritian firm was Letlole’s strategic partner for the local group’s Go-To-Africa strategy under which LLR is seeking deals to expand on the continent and unlock value for shareholders. Letlole La Rona directors have said Grit’s sale of its entire shareholding in LLR is in line with a decision to exit investments where it does not have majority control, or where it has significant exposure to currencies other than the dollar, euro, or hard-currency-pegged revenue streams.
Directors said Grit had announced similar decisions on some of its hospitality assets in Mauritius recently.
Locally, however, highly placed sources have linked Grit’s exit with a shareholder fallout that came to a head in December when Grit tried unsuccessfully to adjourn LLR’s Annual General Meeting, citing “an urgent, significant, and material matter” requiring the board’s attention before the meeting.
At the AGM, the re-election of one of Grit’s directors on the Letlole board was rejected by shareholders, although the pan-African group still has three out of five seats after the meeting.
