..As South Africa’s Imperial sets to dispose off German chemicals unit in $128 mln deal***
Global Spectrum Energy Services Plc, an indigenous oil and gas services company, has received regulatory approval to list its shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), paving the way for investors in the company to trade their shares on the secondary market.
Global Spectrum Energy Services will list its total outstanding issued share capital of 800 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N5 per share. The shares will be listed by way of introduction. The listing will add N4 billion to the total market capitalisation at the Exchange and further deepen the exposure of the market to the midstream and upstream oil and gas sectors.
The management of the NSE has approved the listing of the company through the special window of listing by introduction, which allows companies without previous initial public offerings to list their shares while retaining opportunity to float initial public offering (IPO).
Global Spectrum Energy Services was incorporated in 2006 as an integrated oil and gas servicing company. The company’s operations span many oil and gas producing areas in West Africa.
The company’s services include complimentary maritime security, logistics, energy and engineering services.
In the meantime, South Africa’s Imperial Holdings said on Wednesday it would sell its German chemicals unit, Schirm GmbH and related assets, to AECI for 110.5 million euro ($128.15 million) as it focuses on developing its core businesses.
Imperial, which sells imported vehicles and runs a car rental agency in South Africa, has sold off assets, including a short-term insurance business as it aims to make the group less vulnerable to swings in the value of its home market’s volatile rand currency.
Under the deal, its subsidiary Imperial Chemical Logistics GmbH (ICL) will retain the customer warehousing, transportation and distribution services on sites on which Schirm operates, it said in a statement.
For a period of one year from the closing date of the transaction, Schirm will continue to have an option to acquire four warehouses at the Schirm plant in Schönebeck from ICL for a maximum of 9 million euros ($10.43 million).
“The specialisation and capital requirements of chemical contract manufacturing are not aligned with Imperial Logistics’ capabilities and stated objective of reducing capital intensity,” Imperial said in a
statement.
“Moreover, there are limited operational or financial synergies between chemical contract manufacturing and Imperial Logistics’ other operations.”
Schirm manufactures agrochemicals accounts for around 80 per cent of its revenue, and fine chemicals and supplies Bayer, BASF and Syngenta, among others.
The explosives and speciality chemicals firm, AECI, will pay 3.5 million euros to lease warehouse capacity at the Wolfenbuettel site to meet Schirm’s finished goods storage requirements, Imperial said.
The proceeds will be used to reduce short term debt and to invest in the expansion of the group’s core businesses.
Additional report from Nation
