International shareholding in South Africa-based Capespan has been boosted following an announcement by Total Produce that it has increased its stake in the group to more than 20 per cent.
The announcement by Total Produce came shortly after news that South African investment company BB Investment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Bidvest Group Limited, has acquired additional ordinary shares in the Company.
BB Investment now holds 7.9 per cent of Capespan's ordinary share capital, excluding treasury shares.
Leading the pact is another South African investor, Zeder Investments Ltd, owned by the diversified financial services and investment group PSG. Zeder recently halted, perhaps temporarily, its quest for full ownership when its shareholding in Capespan reached 40 per cent.
Zeder chief executive Antonie Jacobs told Eurofruit that Zeder was comfortable with its shareholding, and would not at this stage pursue a larger stake.
With BB Investments and Total Produce now having a combined share of nearly 28 per cent, the further 22 per cent of the shareholding that still rests in the hands of the smaller shareholders now attains a higher strategic value.
This all came on the back of the Capespan Group's half-year results, announced recently, which pointed to a much better first-half performance compared with 2010.
Capespan increased earnings before tax from R4.3m (€378,000) in the corresponding period last year to R27.5m (€2.4m), while the Group's total revenue increased by 8.9 per cent from R1.16bn (€102m) to R1.26bn (€111m).
This, however, was far short of the results achieved in the first half of 2009, when the Group announced profits of R62.8m (€5.5m).
