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Reuters
Published
Sep 11, 2015
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S.Africa's Brait to raise $541 mln via convertible bond to fund M&A

By
Reuters
Published
Sep 11, 2015

South African investment house Brait SE is to raise 350 million pounds ($541 million) via a convertible bond to fund acquisitions, it said on Friday, putting its shares on course for their biggest one-day fall in nearly a year.

Brait, which owns gym chain Virgin Active and Britain's clothing retailer New Look, is aiming to set the conversion price at a premium of between 30 percent and 35 percent to the current price.



Shares in the company, which is also listed in Luxembourg , fell 7.3 percent to 130.76 rand, on track for their biggest daily percentage fall since November last year.

The 2020 bonds are expected to carry a coupon of between 2.25 percent and 2.75 percent, which will be payable twice a year, Brait said, adding that the final terms would be released later on Friday.

The company ditched the private equity business model four years ago by issuing more publicly owned shares. But it has stuck with its strategy of investing in private companies, including British supermarket chain Iceland Foods and South Africa's Premier Foods, the biggest maker of local staples such as maize meal and bread.

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