Logan to squeeze info out of Safari
Activist shareholder Chris Logan has asked Safari Investment to make public the letters of shareholders opposed to a R1.8bn buyout offer from Community Property Company (Comprop). His request, enforcing his legal right under SA’s transparency laws, comes after the shopping centre owner snubbed the offer from Comprop.
Activist shareholder Chris Logan has asked Safari Investment to make public the letters of shareholders opposed to a R1.8bn buyout offer from Community Property Company (Comprop).
His request, enforcing his legal right under SA’s transparency laws, comes after the shopping centre owner snubbed the offer from Comprop.
Comprop’s R5.90 per share offer torpedoed an all-share tieup between Safari and Fairvest, which scrapped its proposal in August after nearly 56% of Safari shareholders indicated they would vote down the deal and back privately held Comprop’s proposal instead. But Safari has said it received communication from shareholders holding more than 25% of the company confirming they would vote down the Comprop offer.
In a letter this week to Safari CEO Dirk Engelbrecht, Logan said he is enforcing his right under the Promotion of Access to Information Act.
Logan, who is the chief investment officer at Opportune Investments, and other shareholders have been trying for four weeks to get Safari to explain why its board and management have refused to discuss the offer. At its annual general meeting (AGM) in August, Safari refused to discuss any takeover offers which another shareholder activist, Albie Cilliers of Cilandia Capital, said was in contravention of the law.
Logan and Cilliers have called on Safari’s larger shareholders, including Stanlib and Bridge Fund Managers, to support calls for a shareholder meeting to reconstitute the board of Safari.
“This mess around Safari is a test case for corporate governance in listed property and beyond. It’s ridiculous what they are doing,” said Logan.
Engelbrecht said he has received the letter and other correspondence from Logan and is consulting his board and legal team but declined to comment further.