Johannesburg - Premier Food and Fishing (PFF), a subsidiary of African Empowerment Equity Investments (AEEI) says its much anticipated listing on the local bourse has been oversubscribed.
The company said on Thursday that its initial public offering (IPO) was oversubscribed four times, following a successful two-week road show in anticipation of resuming trading on the JSE next week.
It will list on March 2 under the code PFF.
AEEI chief executive Khalid Abdulla said the company was pleased about the feedback it had received from the market.
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“We are excited about the future prospects of listing PFF. The fact that the shares were heavily oversubscribed is a sign of confidence in our fishing business as well as our management team. We wish them well in taking the business to the next level,” Abdulla said.
The company, in existence since 1952, was previously called Sekunjalo Industrial Holdings. It was to privately 117 million shares.
Premier aims to list to gain access to capital to grow its business organically and through future acquisitions. It also wants to give employees and members of communities in which it operates, as well as the general public an opportunity to acquire an equity stake.
The group has said it is well positioned for growth over the next three years and “into the future”. “As one of the largest black fishing companies in South Africa and given that current legislation is likely to promote black participation and black industrial development in this sector, this should be beneficial for the growth in this area.”
The group intends distributing 30 percent of its annual free cash flow to shareholders.
Premier is a vertically integrated food and fishing company which specialises in the harvesting, processing and marketing of fish and fish-related products, as well as general food products. It employs more than 350 permanent and seasonal staff and its business includes factories, processing facilities and fishing vessels operating in three provinces. Its products range from rock lobster to octopus, squid, abalone, pilchards, hake, general food products and environmentally friendly agri-biotechnology products.