Maduna toasts recovery as SAB launches Zenzele 2.0
Penuell Maduna, chair of the South African Breweries (SAB) Zenzele empowerment scheme, struck an optimistic note about prospects for economic recovery in SA as he urged investors to act quickly and pile into the brewer’s new R5.4bn BEE programme.
The former minister of justice in Nelson Mandela’s cabinet said this week the SAB Zenzele Kabili scheme, which replaces the original scheme and plans to list on the JSE’s broad-based BEE segment on May 28, offers long-term investment opportunities that can create generational wealth.
“Let us acknowledge the consequences of the pandemic and the lockdown were unavoidable,” Maduna said at a media briefing to unveil the new scheme.
“Let’s accept that, and a lot of businesses small and big were in trouble, but the South African economy as well as the world economy are not tanking.
“Pretty soon we will begin to see growth in our economy and the economy of the world and therefore you are looking, if you like, at a moment of takeoff,” he said.
“If you want to be part of that flight, the moment is now to buy a ticket, stand in some short queue hopefully, and board the flight because you are then having an advantage of being part of that takeoff.”
Maduna urged prospective investors to take a long-term view to build generational wealth.
Generational wealth
“We all have children, some of us now have grandchildren,” he said.
“Imagine you participate in SAB Zenzele Kabili once it has been launched. You are beginning to build generational wealth if you leave your shares intact.”
The new deal offers an affordable entry point into SAB’s parent company AB InBev because the listed scheme will own AB
InBev shares worth R5.4bn. The shares in the new scheme will launch at R40 each, while AB InBev’s direct shares on the JSE are trading just above R1,000.
Happy returns
SAB says the underlying investment in the previous scheme, launched in 2010, was in SAB itself and had “reached a total maturation value of R9.7bn”, making it the “largest BBBEE scheme in the history of SA in the fast-moving consumer goods sector”.
The original scheme was aimed at giving SAB’s retail partners, including tavern owners, bottle store owners, retail customers and employees, an opportunity to own shares in the business.
“Retailer shareholders who invested R100 in 2010 will have received a total pretax payout of R77,518 when the transaction fully unwinds later this month,” said SAB.
Company secretary Duncan Pask said the qualifying public for the new scheme includes “black persons in terms of the BBBEE Act, so anyone in the broader public that qualifies as a black person in terms of that act can trade and buy into our scheme once we list on the JSE on May 28”.
Global footprint
Existing SAB Zenzele shareholders will vote for the new scheme at a special virtual AGM to be held tomorrow.
Once SAB Zenzele Kabili is listed, investors will be able to buy and sell the new shares on multiple platforms offered by EasyEquities and most large banks.
Explaining the rationale behind making AB InBev itself the underlying investment of the new scheme, Richard Rivett-Carnac, Africa vice-president of finance, legal & corporate affairs: rest of Africa for the AB InBev Africa zone, said: “We believe passionately that AB InBev will perform over time as a global business that participates in multiple markets across the world.”
If you want to be part of that flight, the moment is now to buy a ticket
Penuell Maduna
Chair of SAB Zenzele