Remgro not keen on media focus
June 23, 2009
By Florence de Vries
Despite a dent in headline earnings for the year to March by international oil pricing, investment holding company Remgro is not looking to become a media enterprise holding company.
Chief executive Thys Visser yesterday dismissed the notion that the proposal to merge with corporate cousin VenFin indicated that the group was shifting its strategy to a bigger focus on media companies.
"That's absolute speculation. The media is far too small for Remgro," Visser said.
With several media companies in both Remgro and VenFin's portfolio, some analysts said the group's long-term strategy might well include a shift to media.
The group has made some interesting changes in the year under review, including unbundling shares in British American Tobacco, which affected the group's performance.
More recently, the boards of Remgro and holding company VenFin announced a merger to be implemented on net asset value, which would exclude VenFin's 21 percent shareholding in Dimension Data.
Some analysts believe the move suits the needs of well-known local business family the Ruperts, more so than it does shareholders, since it has a larger stake in VenFin than in Remgro. However, investors can look forward to being exposed to more unlisted investments in the portfolio.
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