Pick n Pay completes two-step recapitalisation plan

Retailer raised R4bn from the rights offer and R8.5bn from the sale of Boxer shares

CEO Sean Summers.
CEO Sean Summers.
Image: SUPPLIED

Pick n Pay has concluded its two-step recapitalisation plan, raising R4bn from the rights offer and R8.5bn from the sale of Boxer shares.

The capital raised enabled Pick n Pay to repay all its long-term debt and to convert interest costs to interest earnings, as the business would hold cash reserves critical for its turnaround, including for investment into new stores and store refurbishments, product range development, technology and innovation, and staff training, it said in a statement on Thursday.

Boxer lists on the JSE today after its successful initial public offering (IPO).

The group’s recapitalisation plan, completed in just nine months, received strong shareholder support, Pick n Pay said.

The Pick n Pay rights offer, the first step of the plan, was more than double oversubscribed, and raised R4bn in August. The Boxer IPO, the second step, in which Boxer shares worth R8.5bn were placed at R54, attracted significant investor interest and was multiple times oversubscribed at the very top end of the price range, it said.

Strong shareholder support enabled Pick n Pay to retain more than 60% of Boxer, the group’s highly valuable growth asset.

“These results reflect shareholder confidence in the group’s strategy and future potential,” it said.

“Successfully concluding our recapitalisation plan in such a short space of time is an extraordinary milestone for Pick n Pay,” said CEO Sean Summers.

“The outcome reflects not only the individual strength of the Pick n Pay and Boxer brands but also the shared belief of our shareholders in our ability to deliver on our strategic goals,” he said.

Summers added that the successful execution of the recapitalisation plan provided a solid foundation for the turnaround of Pick n Pay, which remained a multifaceted and multiyear strategy.

“Under the leadership of a refreshed management team, Pick n Pay has made early progress in enhancing its product range, improving its product availability and customer service and advancing its store reset programme, all of which have delivered encouraging early improvements in the underlying performance of the core Pick n Pay business, but with much more to do,” he said.

mackenziej@arena.africa


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