Mondi’s plan gets conditional nod

Packaging group Mondi has been given the green light to dismantle its complicated dual-listed structure, provided it fulfils conditions set by the Competition Tribunal, including investing R8bn in its SA operations.

Packaging group Mondi has been given the green light to dismantle its complicated duallisted structure, provided it fulfils conditions set by the Competition Tribunal, including investing R8bn in its SA operations over the next five years.

Mondi has a complex duallisted structure, with a primary listing on the JSE under Mondi Ltd and a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange under Mondi Plc, said the group’s senior manager of external communication, Kerry Cooper.

The simplification will bring this into a single structure under Mondi Plc, with a premium listing on the London exchange and an inward secondary listing on the JSE, said Cooper.

“The simplification will simplify cash and dividend flows, increase transparency, remove the complexity associated with the current structure and enhance strategic flexibility,” said Cooper.

The tribunal has given the go-ahead for the merger on condition both parties invest “a total of R8bn in its SA operations over a period of five years”.

The parties are further legally obliged to protect the jobs of Mondi Ltd employees by ensuring none is retrenched over the next three years.

Mondi confirmed there will be no job losses for the period, emphasising that investments of over R8bn will continue in SA over the next five years “including the ongoing investment in forestry assets and modernisation of Mondi’s pulp, containerboard and paper assets in the country”, Cooper said.

The tribunal required that the group continue its trend of ensuring that director positions of the Mondi Plc board be occupied by at least one SA citizen at any given time.

Over the next half a decade, the group must support research and development by continuing to work with institutions of higher learning, said the tribunal. It will also have to further the development of community programmes and small businesses via investments.