DURBAN - The share price of African Oxygen (Afrox) rose more than 42 percent on the JSE yesterday morning after the Linde Group signalled its intention to buy the shares of the gas and welding company that it does not already own and delist it from the bourse and the Namibian Stock Exchange.
Linde owns a majority 50.47percent stake in Afrox and said late on Friday that, because of Afrox’s low share liquidity, which deterred potential investors, Linde was of the view that Afrox was more suited to an unlisted environment and its continued listing provides little benefit to Afrox shareholders.
Afrox, which has been listed since 1963, saw its shares climbing as high as R24.98 a share on the JSE yesterday morning after investors digested the news that was released after the market closed on Friday.
The stock closed the week at R17.51 a share. The Afrox board would declare a special dividend of R1.18 billion, which equals R3.82 a share, if the deal went ahead.
BUSINESS REPORT