Africa Equity

In an otherwise barren summer week for equity block trades in Europe, UBS led the sale on Thursday night of R1.4bn ($95.4m) of stock in Mondi, the Anglo-South African paper and packaging company, on behalf of a group of shareholders left out of a recent reorganisation of Mondi’s listing.

An expected return of Brexit volatility means that there are likely to be fewer UK firms doing IPOs in the fourth quarter of the year, but London will continue to host high profile international listings to make up the shortfall.

Impala Platinum Holdings, the South African platinum mining company this week completed a tender offer to convert its 2.25% June 2022 $250m convertible bonds into stock, with a high near full acceptance rate from bond holders.

Asset managers are looking to the emerging markets as a hedge against a slowdown in the US and Europe.

Impala Platinum Holdings, the South African platinum mining company, has launched a tender offer to convert its outstanding 3.25% $250m June 2022 convertible bonds into equity, after a massive rally in its share price over the last year.

The £540m IPO of Airtel Africa, the African division of India’s Bharti Airtel, has been priced at 80p, the bottom of the initial range, following a $100m anchor order from an existing investor, according to a source close to the transaction.

Investors are calculating the value of Airtel Africa, the African subsidiary of Indian telecoms conglomerate Bharti Airtel, as it is going ahead with a floatation on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

EPP NV, a Polish firm that owns malls and office buildings, raised over €90m of equity capital in Johannesburg on Wednesday last week.

Sibanye-Stillwater, the South African commodities miner, sold a 108.9m share block in the market on Tuesday night to solidify its balance sheet as the company continues to weather a gold workers' strike and prepares for wage talks with unions for its platinum workers.

A cluster of large pan-African companies are exploring listings on the London Stock Exchange, but many have delayed their plans because of political risk in both Africa and the UK.

Steinhoff International continued to dispose of assets this week with a R4.8bn (€293m) sale in KAP Industrial Holdings, the South African industrial company, with the company expected to shed more holding to meet its subsidiaries' funding requirements.

DWF, the UK law firm, has filed paperwork on an initial public offering in London, but many in equity capital markets are predicting that the the city’s largest deals will come from the emerging markets.